One Sunny Day
by ThePotatoFamine
Summary: The breach of Vale was worse than anyone could have anticipated. Even with the arrival of Team CFVY, Beacon's students have no chance to push back the endless stream of Grimm from Mount Glenn. Facing a legendary Grimm, Weiss uses a crystal of dust gifted to her as a last resort. From it, a lone bowman emerges. He will do anything it takes to save Remnant, and with it, his ideals.
1. Summons

**A/N: Welcome to the first official chapter of One Sunny Day! For those who want an update to Die Another Day, fear not! I shall start work on the next chapter once this is posted! But for now, enjoy this Fate/Stay Night x RWBY crossover! This time, starring your favorite (or not) Servant, Archer! This incarnation of him will be just after the events of Fate UBW, as you can probably guess from the first few paragraphs.**

 **Editor/Creative Assistant:** **Paragon of Awesomeness**

* * *

 **Chapter One:**

 **Summons**

* * *

A man garbed in red stood on a rocky ledge, his form surrounded by ethereal wisps of blue energy. He watched the beautiful sunrise, skirting the horizon, flooding the world with a myriad of warm oranges and yellows. Over the ledge was a beautiful and serene forest, kissed by the radiance of the sun before him, with hills rolling off into the horizon like waves in a never-ending ocean. The world was beautiful this way, and it reminded him of the ideals he tried so hard to uphold, once upon a time.

It was for this, the world, and all its people. Alas, years and years of killing and cleaning up after humanity had long since left him jaded and bitter, betrayed by the ideals he held so closely. Even so, deep inside him, he might have even believed that he should've kept trying.

"Archer!" A teenage girl ran up behind him, panting from exhaustion. "Archer..." Rin called out to her Servant in desperation.

The man put his hand on his hip, his eyes never leaving the horizon. "It's a shame, really, but it is what it is. Give up on the Grail Rin, at least for now."

Rin tried to speak out, but instead put her head down in resignation.

"... hehe." The Counter Guardian chuckled, the teasing part of his personality never leaving him, even when on the brink death. As grating as it was for Rin, it seemed like a breath of fresh air.

"Wha-What's with that!" she yelled, stepping forward and drawing her arms to the side, glaring at the back of his head. "Are you laughing at me right now, what's so funny!?"

Archer turned towards her, arms open wide as he gave her a shrug. "Yeah, sorry about that, but you just looked so pathetic I couldn't help myself." Rin put her arms down, dumbstruck at the Servant's behavior. "I was thinking, how the two of us make one sorry looking pair."

She pulled her arms closer to her chest. As much of a pain as he was, Rin knew that she truly wanted him to stay with her and be her Archer again. "Archer, I want you to pact with me again, okay?"

"I'm afraid I can't," he answered, turning away. Though he tried to hide it, there was a tinge of sadness in his voice. "I doubt it would be allowed. And besides, I no longer have a goal. Like it or not, my battle ends here." In the beginning of all this, he had been adamant on ending Shirou Emiya's life. He hoped that if he did so, his existence as a Counter Guardian would become void, as Shirou would never be able to make the pact with Alaya. He despised his younger self for his naïveté, holding onto the ideals that betrayed and damned his future self.

However, as the Holy Grail War continued, he could never seem to kill his past self, and in the end, he decided to save him from the clutches of the tainted Grail.

"But-but that means- that no matter how much time passes, you won't..." Rin put her head down, not needing to end her sentence. They both knew what was unsaid.

"Huh," he gasped, turning back towards her. He put his hand behind his ear sheepishly. "That was unexpected."

"Rin," he continued. The girl in question raised her head up and looked at her soon to be gone Servant. "Keep an eye on me. I'm helpless, but you already know that. So just... be there for me."

"...Archer. " The young magus had tears in the corners of her cerulean eyes. Archer knew that the young girl had captured the heart of his younger self. Looking at her, he knew why. The determination she had was extraordinary, and her genius was unrivaled. If there was anyone that could keep his younger self from turning into the jaded man he now was, it would be her.

 _'Yes, she'll definitely good for Shirou,'_ Archer mused. His form was already almost gone, vanishing into blue wisps of energy.

The young magus wiped the tears away from her eyes. "Okay... I got it. I promise I'll try. I'll do my best to make sure that he doesn't turn into a jerk like you," she joked, the smile returning to her face and tears gone. "And I promise that I'll do all I can to get him to learn to like himself. You do the same, okay?"

"That's good enough for me," the man responded with relief in his voice. "Don't worry Tohsaka, I'll be fine. I swear, I'll try my hardest from now on," he ended with a genuine smile adorning his usually harsh visage. He looked so much more like his younger self with the tension gone from his face, and just for a second Rin thought she was seeing Shirou fade away instead of the Heroic Spirit EMIYA. But by the time she had snapped out of her stupor, his form had finally vanished from the world, returning to the Throne of Heroes, awaiting once again to be called to serve as humanity's protector.

The sun rose brightly and shined upon the world Archer had once given up on. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance for it to be saved. The lonely bowman would finally rest after his long battle. Soon, there will be another. But instead, he did not dread the day that battle would come. He'll go forth once again, and hopefully, in time, he will forgive himself. And maybe, even the world.

 _'Shirou, Rin, the fate of this world rests in your hands.'_

* * *

Jaune was woken by the buzzing of his scroll. "Uhguhh wha?" he coughed out. He pulled the device up in front of his face and saw that Ruby was calling him.

"Uhhh... hello?" he answered groggily, still half-asleep. Instead of an audible reply, all that he heard was loud static and noise on the other end, startling him. "Agh!"

The knight looked at his scroll again, wondering why his fellow team leader would call him at such late of an hour. The sun hadn't even risen yet, meaning he should still be asleep. He couldn't help but feel concerned, however, as it was odd for her to call at this time. From what he could recall, Team RWBY was out on their own mission, which did nothing to quell his fears.

"Ghuh, Ruby." He needed to get back to sleep, having his own mission to carry out once the day began. He couldn't help but let a small frown mar his face, knowing deep down something was wrong. There was always the possibility that she butt dialed him, from the lack of a response, but the fact that she was on a mission made it less likely.

He clutched the device tightly in his hand, not able to shake of the fear that something bad was happening to them.

'I'll tell them in the morning, I hope it won't get in the way of our own mission,' he thought.

With that, he put his scroll down on his nightstand and drifted back off to a dreamless sleep.

* * *

"I'm sure they're fine!" Pyrrha claimed, no trace of doubt present in her voice.

"You think?" Jaune asked with uncertainty. Even though he knew team RWBY was very capable, he still had doubts as to their current conditions.

"Probably a butt dial~" Nora singsonged, skipping her way to the bullhead.

"Team RWBY has always performed exceptionally in the field," Ren voiced his opinion. "We should be focusing on our own mission."

"We're gonna be deputies!" Nora exclaimed, no doubt excited at the prospect of their own mission.

"I... just have this feeling... I don't know," he said, still concerned about team RWBY.

"Jaune-" Pyrrha started, before they all heard a loud siren coming from the main metropolis of Vale. Just behind them, Beacon let out its own alarm, making team JNPR all turn around at the sudden noise.

'Crap, I was right.' Jaune mentally cursed.

"We're changing our mission, everyone on board!" he ordered. He just hoped that they would arrive on time to actually help.

The blonde knight headed towards the bullhead first, the others following suit.

Before Ren could board, Jaune pulled him aside. "Ren. We'll make it out to the village another time." Ren just nodded at that, understanding his leader's change of plans. It seemed as if Jaune was right from the beginning.

"Take us to the city!"

* * *

Team RWBY looked around the the plaza, the horde of Grimm staring them down as if they were going to be lunch. There seemed to be no end to the Grimm pouring out of the blasted hole, essentially making it so that the plaza was just a sea of black and white.

Before the Grimm could get the drop on them, they leapt into action.

Ruby leapt towards a pack of Beowolves, slamming her scythe on the ground, lodging the blade in the concrete. She used it to rotate herself, kicking out at the circle of Grimm around her. Before she could finish her attack, however, an Ursa barreled through her enemies, charging into her and throwing her further down the street.

"Ahhh!" the rosette yelled out, striking her scythe towards the ground in order to stop her momentum. The Ursa immediately went out to tear her apart, but before it could attempt even one slash, Ruby fired a few rounds at it and used her semblance to reach its position and finish it off with a vertical slash upwards. However, four more Ursai converged around her position. Before they charged however, she saw a pink and white blur from the distance.

"Nora!" Ruby shouted in surprise. She had thought they had their own mission, but the backup was very much appreciated.

Once Nora reached close to the ground, she hammered one of the Ursai before hopping back down next to Ruby.

"Let's break their legs!" the Valkyrie exclaimed, leaping up into the air to deliver another bludgeon to the Ursai around them.

Ruby on the other hand lashed out at them with a generous number of large swipes and slashes with her scythe.

"Rahhh!" She shouted as she took down the Grimm around her.

While they were momentarily clear, Nora heard her team leader's orders. "Team JNPR! Here! We have to help any civilians that didn't manage to get out of here. Quickly!"

With that, Ruby found herself alone again while Nora went to follow the rest of her team. A large Boarbatusk was her next opponent.

The beast let out a bloodcurtling scream before bunching up into its ball form and rolling out at Ruby. Instead of trying to meet it head on, however, she simply dove to the side and let it smash into an empty building behind her. While it tried to regain its senses after crashing into the windows, Ruby was able to lay down a couple of powerful strikes at its underbelly, felling the Grimm before it could do any more damage.

There was no reprieve, however, as she found herself surrounded by even more Grimm, a King Taijitu being among them. Yang managed to land right next to her after shooting out at the sky.

"How ya doing, sis? You _Yanging_ in there?" Yang punned as they both held off the various Grimm before them.

"Ya~aang, this isn't the time for puns!" Ruby groaned as she killed a few more Beowolves around her. Even if she was able to eliminate them all, even more seemed to take their place.

Atlas military droids leapt out from the airships, finally giving the huntresses-in-training some much appreciated reprieve. However, as they went to eliminate some of the Grimm, there weren't enough of them to properly manage the monsters, many of them already getting torn apart by the beasts.

Yang heard the noise of an engine and saw a bullhead converging on their position, four figures jumping out of the cargo hold into the center of the plaza. Immediate, dozens upon dozens of Grimm began to surround them.

"Is that Team CFVY? The second year team?" Yang asked, relieved at their seniors' appearance. However, it seemed like they were already having a lot of trouble, the sheer amount of Grimm giving them little space to maneuver and barely any room for error.

Even as they killed hundreds of Grimm, more poured out of the godforsaken hole. They seemed to replace their downed comrades twofold, and as the battle went on, the Grimm only seemed to get bigger, meaner, and even scarier. Ruby and Yang were beginning to have some trouble real trouble fighting the Grimm, already having expended a good chunk of their Aura during this fight, which had seemingly no end in sight.

"Damnit! There's just too many of them!" Yang screamed as she took down another Ursa Major, expending a great chunk of her ammo to take out even a small portion of the horde of Grimm pouring from the hole.

"I know Yang, but we just can't give up on this! Vale's counting on us!" Ruby yelled back, taking out a pack of Beowolves with a spin of her scythe, Crescent Rose.

Even as she took them out, even more burst from the hole in the ground to replace them. Ursai and their larger counterparts, Ursa Majors, poured out in droves. King Taijitus slithered out while Deathstalkers creeped towards their prospective prey.

Ruby looked around. The amount of Grimm was astounding, it scared her to even think about it. There were already the bodies of civilians that were caught up in the breach littering the streets. Team CFVY's and the mechs' assistance certainly helped, but the latter was already reduced to scraps and the former was surrounded by at least a few hundred large Grimm; Coco's weapon being the only thing keeping them at bay, with the rest of her team trying to fend of the smaller creeps and occasional pest that got past Coco's fire. However, with more and more Grimm coming to support their brethren, they too would be overwhelmed.

Team JNPR went out to try and keep the Grimm away from the civilian population. Even so, she could still hear the screams of people being preyed on by the monsters. It made her want to hurl. It was all so disgusting. She wanted to help save people, but how could she if against an enemy this overwhelming?

"Ruby, look out!" she heard Blake scream, as a large Beowolf tried to sneak up behind her. Blake shot out a few rounds from Gambol Shroud to distract it for a bit, and it managed to work temporarily, making the Beowolf roar at her instead of continuing its assault on Ruby.

"Take this you freak!" Ruby yelled as she repeatedly shot at it while managing to avoid its claws. "HIIIIYAAAAHH!" With one final war cry, she shot out a round, letting the recoil carry her around, taking out a few more creeps around her, and felling the Beowolf that had been so close to taking her life.

Weiss on the other hand was a bit closer to Yang now, taking on what seemed like a dozen different types of Grimm with a Deathstalker not far off. She managed to dance around her opponents with grace, twisting and turning through the air with the elegance of a seasoned ice skater, but lashed out and attacked with the ferocity of a trained warrior. Even with her skill, her downed opponents were quickly replaced with more and more Grimm. Even if she could take them all on, soon she would run out of stamina and aura. Her glyphs were a boon, but without any kind of reprieve from the assault, it was only a matter of time and luck before she lost.

A loud roar tore through the plaza. It made both human and Grimm stand at attention. The roar caused every human and faunus that heard it instinctively shudder in terror. It was so utterly primal, yet it seemed to call out to all the Grimm around them. Even Team CFVY stood stock-still, too stunned to take advantage of the temporarily frozen Grimm surrounding them.

"W-What was that," Weiss heard Yang ask shakily. They have never heard such a noise from a Grimm. The roar was so powerful and commanding, it was as if it was an absolute command to run and hide, or be consumed.

Weiss didn't grace her teammate with an answer. Instead, she shook the brawler's shoulder and pointed towards the hole in the ground where they had come from. Yang's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets when she saw the source of the disturbance.

An enourmous Grimm, larger than any of the Majors that crawled out of the hole stood, poised on top of all the rubble. It looked nothing like any of the Grimm they had previously faced. It had bat-like wings the color of a raven's, extending out further than even that of a Nevermore. Multiple bone protrusions sprouted from the edge of its wings, and Weiss didn't need a demonstration to know that they were razor sharp.

Its body was that of a lion, an extremely large one at that. Its fur was as black as the night. A large intricate mask adorned its face, and towards the top large horns stuck out, shaped much like the crown of a twisted, cruel monarch. Its mane made it seem as if it was shrouded by darkness itself. The tail of the unholy beast was covered with large plates all the way down to the tip, where a large golden stinger lay, much like a Deathstalker's . Bile colored venom oozed from the tip, and occasionally dropped onto the cement where it sizzled and left holes large enough for a grown man to fit into.

"I-Is that..." Weiss started, not able to conjure up the words to finish her sentence.

The creature was a Manticore, the stuff of Vacuoan legend, millennia old with a primal intelligence lying beneath its blood red eyes.

The unholy creature bared its teeth, multiple rows of jagged canines taking residence in its mouth. Weiss didn't notice it at first but the other Grimm around them began to howl and roar at the sky, as if their victory was assured and their king has come to lead them to victory. And much like any king, this one had come with its royal guard.

Smaller Grimm emerged from the hole to stand beside the Manticore, numbering about a dozen. They were like mountain lions, except their fur was black and their masks were oddly a shade of gray with yellow lines ornamenting them. There was no trace of red. They surrounded their leader; prowling around low to the ground, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

"GROAARGGG!" it trumpeted, leaping into the sky. Its wings blotted out the sun and the lion-Grimm sprung into action. Four of them targeted Yang and Weiss, four more taking on Ruby and Blake, while the final four went to assault Team CFVY.

"Get ready, Ice Queen!" Weiss heard Yang getting her gauntlets ready for another round. She shot out a few shells at the advancing Grimm, but they proved to be too fast and agile, leaping from side to side, scrambling their positions to confuse the pair of huntresses-in-training, all the while avoiding anything Weiss of Yang shot out at them.

Two of them pounced at the pair of huntresses, claws ready to strike. Weiss was barely able to get under it, flipping into a handstand to kick the underside of the Grimm. She was successful, but the it was more agile than a normal Grimm so it just rolled into the ground then went back to face off against her a second time. Yang on the other hand was able to get above hers and shot out a few rounds at its back, but the creature twisted out of the way and landed right next to the one that had assaulted Weiss.

The other two were on the other side of the girls, waiting for an opportune moment to strike.

"What are these things?" Yang asked Weiss, her hands poised to strike if any of them dared to approach. Instead, the lion-Grimm just decided to circle the girls.

"My sister had told me about these things. I believe she had called them Sabrefangs. They're extremely fast and agile and are much more intelligent than the typical Grimm," Weiss answered her team member, her eyes never leaving the Sabrefang.

The first pair of them finally resumed their assault, but Weiss was ready this time. She fired a few rounds of ice Dust at the ground around the beasts, creating a wall of jagged ice that trapped two of the Sabrefangs inside of it. However, it was just a distraction, as while Yang was busy with another Sabrefang, one managed to get past her and swipe out at Weiss, taking out a huge chunk of her Aura and smashing her through her own ice wall, sending her rolling across the street.

"Weiss!" Yang turned to face towards her friend, but that was a grave mistake. One of the Sabrefangs took the opening and slashed out at Yang, throwing her into a brick building just behind Weiss.

"Oh no! Yang, are you alright?" Weiss asked, running towards the downed form of the resident brawler. Slowly but surely Yang was able to get up, using a ledge behind her as support.

"I'm okay, Weiss-Cream. It's gonna take more than that to take me dow-owwww damnit," Yang cursed, clutching the side where the Sabrefang swiped at her.

"You're not okay! I know you're strong Yang but let me handle this for a bit," the girl in white ordered her.

"You won't be able to take them down on your own," Yang pointed out. "They're just as fast as we are and they've already gotten the drop on us. We need to stay together."

"...You're right," Weiss admitted. She hated when she was wrong but Yang had a point: she was toast if she tried to take on four Sabrefangs alone. "Once we kill these ones, we can go over and back up Ruby and Blake."

Weiss glanced over at her other two teammates and saw that the former White Fang member and her team leader were slowly getting overpowered by the combination attacks of their own Sabrefangs.

"Let's go!" Yang hollered, rushing towards the Grimm with her arms cocked back to strike. Weiss followed suit, charging into the fray alongside her friend. Instead of punching towards the four powerful Grimm, Yang turned back around, halting her assault, arms down and hands joined, awaiting Weiss. The heiress reached her and with a great surge of energy, Yang thrusted her arms up and over her head, propelling the petite girl up and over the Grimm.

Weiss twisted her body and pointed Myrtenaster downwards, a round of Dust already primed to fire. A glyph appeared above her, propelling her straight down. She shot her round down at the ground and then surged towards the four Sabrefangs. Yang was already able to leave the vicinity while the four Sabrefangs just stared up at their impending defeat. Once Weiss reached the ground, it cracked and shattered, and a cone of ice formed around her, trapping the Sabrefangs in its cold embrace.

Weiss meanwhile simply hopped out of her construct and Yang ran up to her, pumping her fists at their minor yet awesome victory.

"Awww yeah Weiss! We totally showed them who's boss!" Yang cheered. However, their victory was short lived as a large shadow was cast over the two girls.

"Move!" Weiss ordered, pushing Yang out of the way and hopping out of the way.

The Manticore crashed through Weiss's ice like a hammer through glass, shattering its servants trapped inside the structure. Like all Grimm, they began to fade away into nothingness upon their death.

"GRAWWWWW!" the creature roared, a shockwave extending out from its mouth, forcing Yang and Weiss to hold their ground at the incoming barrage of air.

"Shit!" Yang cursed, holding her hands in front of her, eyes narrowing at the onslaught of air. Her hair thrashed chaotically behind her, undoing the hours of work she put into styling it in the morning. After the shockwave passed, Weiss and Yang stared at the single lock of hair floating in front of them.

"Y-You... YOU BASTARD!" Yang cried out, charging her opponent without abandon.

"Yang no!" Weiss shouted at the girl turned war machine, but it was to no avail. Yang continued her charge, but what happened when she reached the beast was what surprised Weiss the most. Or more specifically, how it happened.

With a show of incredible agility, the massive Grimm twisted itself around Yang's fist, avoiding the shotgun rounds that she shot out at it. Once she was past its front half, it opened its wings while it was still twisting like a bullet out of a barrel and it hammered the buxom blonde into the nearest building at an what would've been literal breakneck speed were it not for the brawler's Aura. While Yang thankfully wasn't hurt, she didn't get back up either.

"What on Remant is this thing?" Weiss asked herself without thinking. As if the beast understood her, it let out a rumbling snarl and began to stalk towards her. The snow angel was briefly stupefied by the fact that this giant monster was taking the time to focus on _her_ , and was barely able to react as she tried to protect herself from all of its swift strikes with her defensive glyphs. However, with a show of agility not befitting a beast of such size, it was able to bypass her defenses and land a singular jab at her stomach, which drained out the rest of her Aura and rocketed her down the street.

She was still able to retain her grace and instead of crashing into the asphalt, she flipped a few times into a low crouch. However without her Aura, she wouldn't be able to withstand another attack lest she suffer real harm.

"Weiss!" she heard her team leader and partner yell out towards her. She looked to her right and saw Ruby and Blake sprinting towards her.

"Ruby! Go get your sister! She was thrown into the that building over there by this thing. Go before it collapses on top of her!" Weiss pled her partner.

"Yang's hurt! Oh nononono, I'm gonna get you Yangggg!" Ruby shouted, already heading towards the almost collapsed building, rose petals trailing her retreating form.

"Just hang in there Weiss!" Blake said while getting Gambol Shroud ready. However, the Manticore was intelligent enough not to let them combine forces, so without warning it shot towards the faunus girl, grabbed her with its tail, and threw her a few buildings blocks away from the current battlefield.

"Blake, no!" Weiss cried out in desperation. That hit might not have been enough to take out her aura, but the landing would surely be debilitating.

The Manticore stared down at Weiss and that was when she knew she was going to die. It charged towards her, one of its forelegs ready to strike and she was barely able to block it with her rapier before it caused her to barrel into a shop window of a building.

Her head was spinning and she could see stars. Weiss could barely make out a few patches of light around her, and the blood pouring down her forehead obscured almost everything else. With a shaking hand she took a red jeweled pendant off from around her neck, one that she hadn't taken off once in ten long years, but knowing full well that it was her and her team's last shot at surviving this ordeal.

* * *

 _A small, pale girl sat in the middle of a large interior garden. She was absolutely fascinated with all of the beautiful flowers and the serene atmosphere made in an ideal place to wander and observe during her free time. Her family was extremely strict, always expecting the best of her and scolding her harshly if she ever did anything even remotely deviant or rebellious. And it certainly didn't help that the White Fang always seemed too cause her father to become bitter and frustrated, placing even more stress on the already very busy man, often leaving him overflowing with frustrations that he was all to happy to take out on his youngest child._

 _This garden was a place where she was able to get away from all of that, at least for a little while. Her own little sanctuary where she could forget about all the bad things in the world._

 _She heard someone stepping into the area, tensing up, hoping that this intruder wasn't one of the more stuck-up maids, which was to say almost all of them, or heavens forbid her father._

 _The girl with the snow white hair turned around and instantly loosened her muscles. Instead, it was her big sister, Winter, who had come into the garden. She was dressed in a crisp white uniform, consisting of a long sleeved collared blouse with a dark grey tie with an equally immaculate set of white slacks. It was the uniform of Schwarz academy, Atlas' primary combat school for huntsmen and huntresses, completion of which was required in all but name for anyone who wanted to be accepted into Atlas Academy. Winter was eight years older than her little sister Weiss, already on her way to becoming one of the most prestigious huntresses in Atlas. Her admission to Atlas Academy was all but certain at this point, and General Ironwood himself has already set his sights on making her part of the Atlas Military's special forces once she graduated from Atlas Academy._

 _"I knew I could find you here, Weiss. You seem to be a bit upset. May I ask what the problem is?" the older girl asked. She could see the pent up anger in Weiss' visage, and a few of her hairs were out of place, most likely from running._

 _"It's Daddy, he's always mad and stuff, and I just want to help but he always scolds me and tells me to go away and not…" she struggled to remember that word her father seemed to like using "interfere. But I just want to help him so he isn't so mad all the time..." Weiss complained, tears starting to leak out from her eyes. She couldn't fully comprehend the situation with the White Fang at such a young age. All she could see is that whenever something happened involving them and her father, it made him extremely upset and irritable. It's been a more usual occurrence as of late, and little Weiss was frustrated herself. She couldn't do anything for the her Father and it made her upset that he only seemed to treat her as an annoyance._

 _"Weiss," the girl looked up as she felt her sister's hand rest on her cheek. Our father can be… you know how he is. Just don't worry about him be for now, and try to understand that he's not truly angry with you. It's a difficult time for everyone in the company, him more than anyone. The Schnee Dust Company has been accused of labor abuse, specifically against our faunus workers, and the White Fang has become far more radical and violent in recent times. No one can handle all of that pressure, at least not without difficulty. That's what's making him mad, Weiss, not you."_

 _The younger sister's lip slowly stopped quivering, but the sad look in her face remained. "I just… I just want to help Daddy." she sniffed._

 _Winters's expression softened as she beheld her little sister. Weiss was far too young to even understand, let alone help with a situation such as this. She needed something to take her mind off of it. But it couldn't just be something simple like going out for ice cream._ 'What could… wait… that could work.' _"Weiss," the elder sibling spoke, reaching to remove something from around her neck she kept tucked under her clothes. "I have something here for you."_

 _"A present?" Weiss asked, excitement now shining in her eyes._

 _"Yes," Winter confirmed, "a very special one." And she revealed a pendant with a brilliant red gem dangling on the end of it to her little sister._

 _"It's so pretty…" the younger Schnee breathed in wonder as her eyes reflected the red stone before her._

 _"This pendant is an heirloom for our family, a gemstone comprised of the highest quality of Dust known throughout Remnant, passed down through the Schnee bloodline ever since the dawn of the kingdoms. Some say it was one of the first pieces of Dust to ever be found by man on Remnant, there is no other like it in the world." Winter said with a smile._

 _The gem itself was triangular, the color that of blood. It wasn't extravagant but it was absolutely beautiful. The clasp that linked it and the chain was marked with a tiny cross one could barely make out, with the chain itself being pure silver. Despite the care that had been shown to it over the centuries, it was still very old and rather worn in some places, but it was still unquestionably beautiful._

 _"Weiss, I'm giving this to you not just as a gift but as a tool. While it is a family heirloom, it is still comprised of Dust, and that means it can be used as such. If you decide to become a huntress like I have, keep this with you at all times. And you're ever in an extremely pressing situation that means your life or death, flood the stone with Aura and shatter it. It holds a great amount of power. What that power does I can't say, I doubt even Father knows. But this gem is made of the highest quality dust known to the Kingdoms. I'm sure it will be useful should you ever need it. But only if you absolutely need it, understood?" Winter explained to her little sister._

 _"I understand Winter! Thank you so much! I'll be sure to get so good and strong that I won't ever need to use it, then once I'm as amazing as you, I can give it back!" Weiss exclaimed, puffing her chest out with confidence._

 _"I'm sure you'll make a fine huntress one day, dear little sister." Winter reassured her, clasping the pendant around her around her adorable sister's neck._

 _Once Weiss' skin touched the jewel though, she had to clutch her head in pain, dropping down to her knees with a cry of pain._

 _"Weiss? Weiss! What's wrong?!" Weiss barely heard her sister over the influx of energy and information pouring out from the jewel. She saw brief flashes of barren battlefields littered with swords and bladed weapons of every make. She saw a man with hair as white as the first snow of winter garbed in tight fitting black armor, bleeding all over, smiling bitterly as he alone looked over the battlefield. She saw a girl in a red sweater, yelling out a name in utter desperation that was so foreign to her ears. The last thing she saw was the same man in a torn red cloak and the same black armor smiling serenely, the sun rising behind him._

 _Young Weiss Schnee fell into her sister's arms, her head spinning and vision fading to black. She could barely make out the outline of her sister's head right in front of her, barely even aware as Winter cried out to her in desperation._

 _"Call a doctor, William, now! I don't know what's happened to Weiss. It seems as if..." She couldn't hear her sister finish her statement. The world faded to black as she began to dream of swords, battles, and a man with snow kissed hair and sun-kissed skin._

* * *

"I promised myself that I would never need to use this..." Weiss complained to herself, setting the pendant on the ground in front of her. Beyond the shop window, the Manticore stood, about to pounce on top of her.

"I'm sorry Winter, I won't be able to give this back to you after all. But right now it's not just my life on the line."

She used her rapier to draw a glyph, with the center of it being the triangular jewel that Winter had entrusted on her a long ten years ago. The Manticore saw her actions and roared in fury at the puny human's defiance, abandoning the nimble approach in its rage as it simply crashed into the building, causing it to collapse around the girl. It bared its teeth, ready to rend Weiss limb from limb if the stone did not crush her, but before the rubble could reach her, she smashed the tip of her rapier into the jewel, shattering it and releasing a wave of incredible energy around her.

With that, all she saw was a flash of white.

* * *

The Heroic Spirit EMIYA did not know how long it has been since he had parted with his master of the fifth Holy Grail War. Time in the Throne of Heroes did not exist in the same manner as it did in the physical world. He could see flashes of a few battles here and there, but oddly enough, he hadn't been summoned by the Counter Force since the War and was more than content to let that be.

He reflected on the happenings of the most recent version of the fifth Grail War, clinging onto the memories of before he faded away. EMIYA had finally acknowledged the existence of the boy, Shirou Emiya. After a battle of wills and spirits, swords and bows, Archer found himself defeated at the hands of the boy, having been unable to break his spirit. Despite everything, despite knowing the truth, the boy still held onto his dreams. The boy had even discovered his own inner world, brighter and more beautiful than his own had ever been.

Archer fought fairly with the boy, letting the sentimentality override the rationality that would have allowed him just kill his younger self instantly. Instead, he first toyed with him, giving him the time that he needed to bridge the gap in between their abilities. Archer couldn't understand at first why the boy still strove to go on, still fought against him even if both knew that the older one was right, that the younger was weaker even if he drew on his older self's skills. He saw the hell he was put through as they crossed blades, but instead of being scared or even disgusted, he wished to go into that Hell.

 _"Hey, you know that's Hell you're walking into."_

But the boy didn't care. He didn't care at all. Not for the fact that the Guardian was right, not for the fact that his dream was hypocritical, foolish and borrowed, not for the fact that he would have to face that Hell if he continued to fight and trudge his way through the same path that the Guardian once had.

 _"If you walk down the path that you believe is right, you cannot be wrong."_

It did not matter if it was hypocrisy. It did not matter that the Guardian was right and the boy was wrong. In the end, it only matters whether or not the boy believed his path to be right, and when Archer believed it to be wrong, _he_ became wrong.

Still, the boy fought on. It shouldn't have surprised him. After all, they were two sides of the same coin. He knew his own stubbornness, his own will to keep moving forward. In a way, he could understand. In fact he understood better than anyone. That's why he had accepted his own defeat at the hands of the boy, and even saved him from the King of Heroes.

He reflected constantly on all of this. On his promise to Rin. He understood why his younger self ended up falling for her. In the end, she would be the one to keep Shirou true to his ideals. In his own path, he walked alone. However, Shirou won't have to go through his path alone. There would be a friend, a woman that loved him dearly, that she would push Shirou to keep going even when he lost the will to do so.

Maybe the difference between him and Shirou had been just that. During his own life, he'd been alone, even if physically he was not. His shoulders bore the weight of the world, and not once did he think that he could let someone else share even the smallest part of the burden with him. That's what broke him in the end.

No one should be forced to bear that alone, whether it's by their own choice or not. Sacrificing one's own happiness for the good of humanity is a beautiful goal indeed, but if one were to keep that dream to oneself, the burden of the dream would indeed crush them in the end.

Alas, his Luck rating never did him any favors, and he found himself to be pulled towards another world, assuming that he was to do the cruel yet ultimately necessary bidding of Alaya once again. He hoped that it was not for another Grail War as the Grail was tainted beyond belief and he would rather not be caught up in the pointless bloodshed that would always ensue. He would find that his wish was granted, but soon, EMIYA would realize the fatal error in his desires and would know that wherever he was sent to, would be much more trouble than any Grail War or evil Zoroastrian Deity could possibly be.

In a flash of light, he left the Throne of Heroes to once again, be the deterrent to the destruction of mankind. However, the threat would lie not just in humanity, but in another, far more monstrous existence, in the world he was sent to.

* * *

When the light died down, she saw that her glyph was not the normal snowflake pattern but a much more intricate one, with a six pointed star replacing it, and a wide variety of runes and symbol of unknown origin contained within it. The glyph was glowing red, her rapier still lodged in the center.

The Manticore halted its charge momentarily, stunned by the flash, but then letting out what seemed like a dark chuckle as the walls around her crumbled and fell. She could see its disgusting mask reaching out to kill her as the walls closed in and formed her coffin and resting place.

She crumpled down, accepting her death, closing her eyes and awaiting the worst. She let out a chuckle of her own, morbidly amused at the fact that she was going to die in such a manner.

Before death's cold embrace could reach her, however, she heard a deep, masculine voice roar out in defiance.

 **" _RHO AIAS_!"**

* * *

 **A/N: Hello and welcome to v2 of Chapter 1 of OSD. Fear not! I have not just thrown out the other happenings, and they should be in chapter two, which I should have posted with this. Thank you all very much for the reviews as they were absolutely needed as my pacing was incredibly bad and the usage of almost all the aria lines for Trace Bullet obviously too much. It'll be different, trust me.**

 **S/O to Paragon of Awesomeness for the review which led to the string of PMs that allowed me to make this story better, being extremely helpful and the scene with Winter wouldn't have been as good without the edits and changes. Like, wow, my original and my edited version (which trust me, was quite a bit longer than the first one) were just not the same. Paragon edited both of the new chapters and helped me greatly with a few plot points that needed to be thought out for the future of this story.**

 **On another note, wow. I believe there were about 20 reviews and almost 2000 views and just under 100 favs and follows within a few days of release. Like, wow! That's insane! Like my other story already had 4 chapters out and I consider it of better quality than my first version of OSD's first chapter, but it still has about half the likes and follows of OSD. I'll be updating that story before September ends. Trust me.**

 **Peace out!**


	2. Unholy Breach

**Editor/Creative Assistant: Paragon of Awesomeness**

* * *

 **Chapter 2:**

 **Unholy Breach**

* * *

Weiss opened her eyes and saw a man clad in a crimson mantle standing before her eyes, his hand held above his head and, astoundingly, a pink ethereal flower with seven petals holding up the debris above them.

 _'What type of Aura manipulation is that, to make a barrier that can stop an entire building worth of rubble so easily?'_

Even the manticore was held back by the shield; all of its vicious attacks proving to be in vain against the newcomer's seemingly impenetrable defense.

She looked at the man and found hard and powerful eyes staring back at her. He didn't even seem to be struggling under the weight, which shocked the girl as even someone with complete mastery of Aura manipulation would be buckling under such an intense weight. Perhaps his Semblance granted him some form of super strength? That had to be the answer.

After a brief silence, the man peered into her eyes and spoke with a deep and compelling voice.

"I feel nothing linking me to a Master, and yet everything else indicates that I have been summoned… You, girl, are you the one who summoned me?"

Weiss looked up at the man, still shell-shocked by the fact that she wasn't dead and confused at her mysterious savior's sudden appearance and words.

"It seems as if you are unable to properly answer me due to the situation that you are in. Again, I ask of you again; are you the one who called me to this plane of existence?" the man asked her again, a twinge of impatience in his voice.

"Uhhh... yes?" Weiss was unable to form a coherent thought in her head. All she could do was answer the man and hope that he would be able to save her and her teammates.

"I would like to talk more, girl, but it seems as if I caught you in a bad situation. I'm guessing you performed the summoning out of desperation, and didn't fully understand what you were doing. I suppose that doesn't matter now. We can discuss my being here later. I'm sensing dozens of concentrations of tainted energy in the immediate vicinity, the most powerful of which is this beast above us. I'll take care of these things first."

All Weiss could do was nod dumbly, not able to completely comprehend the situation she found herself in. Before she knew it, she was scooped up in the man's arms and he barreled his way towards an open area. As soon as he moved his legs he let go of the barrier, the rubble beginning to fall back around them.

Regaining her bearings, Weiss screamed into his ear, "What are you doing you dunce!"

"I'm getting my you out of this collapsing building, girl, did my actions not make that clear?" the red man answered her. Even if she couldn't see his face, Weiss could feel his chastisement from his clipped tone.

She raised her head and saw that they were barreling their way towards the wall, all the while the Manticore chasing them as concrete and rubble fell chaotically around them.

"Wait what are you doing?! You're letting it corner us! Stop this instant!" Weiss shouted, but her protests fell on deaf ears, as they just continued to rocket towards the concrete wall even faster than before.

Instead of being splattered against reinforced concrete, however, the man turned his body at the last second, using his back to break through it, landing them in the alleyway behind the shop's building. Wasting absolutely no time, he quickly surveyed his surroundings, trying to find a good vantage point to get a good view of the area. Settling for the tallest building in the vicinity with a water tower on top of it, he jumped onto a roof of a nearby building. With powerful strides, he was able to get up on top of the tall building, a good few miles away from the plaza.

The Counter Guardian was able to make out the various groups of brightly colored fighters down in the plaza by reinforcing his eyes. A group of four was a bit further out, defending a few civilians from a small horde of Grimm. They were faring much better than the rest of the fighters, with less Grimm hounding them, but he saw that more were rushing towards their position to back up their fellow beasts.

And he could not allow this particularly large beast that had nearly killed his summoner to attack her again, or anyone else for that matter, as it would surely mean their death. The defenders already had their hands more than full dealing with the smaller monstrosities.

"Put me down this very instant! I order you!" the bowman heard the girl's demand as she squirmed in his arms. He complied with her request and set her down, albeit a bit roughly.

"What do you think you are doing, manhandling me in that manner you dolt?" the Schnee heiress scolded the Heroic Spirit.

 _'Why do I always get the demanding ones with short tempers'_ he groaned internally. In any event, she wasn't his Master, so instead of gracing her with a reply, he peered out over the rooftop. Much closer to the original battlefield was a large pile of rubble that marked the original building they battled the Primal Grimm in. He could not see the form of the Manticore underneath it, but he could clearly discern the tainted energy underneath it, boiling and restless. It reminded him of the Holy Grail, tainted by Angra Mainyu, turned into a tool that could only be used to cause utter death and annihilation.

"I-Is it dead?" he heard the girl shakily ask from beside him. He had to shake his head at her misplaced hope.

"Girl, do you honestly believe for a second that that thing would be dead just because a bit of rock fell on it?" he asked rhetorically. He traced a large black bow into his hands, intent on destroying the beast.

Weiss stared at it and them him incredulously. "Do _you_ really believe a mere arrow can kill that thing?" the heiress retorted, echoing his own snarky attitude.

Before he could be bothered to come up with a response, a large black blur shot out from the pile of rubble miles away, soaring into the air. The Manticore was intent on destroying the people who dared to challenge it. The Counter Guardian did not spare any time as he jumped from the ledge, landing on a smaller building's roof just below. He could barely hear the girl's angry shouts from above his position.

The Heroic Spirit fired one of his normal arrows the Manticore, luring it out to his position. The beast almost grinned at the foolishness its prey seemed to display, revealing his position. In began to fly down towards him, and as it neared, he leapt up into the air like a bullet, unleashing a volley of arrows on the ancient Grimm, many of which it was actually able to avoid. As their positions converged, the beast tried to swipe at the red and black bullet, but simply met air as the man twisted underneath its claws and positioned himself right underneath the monster. In a show of near impossible skill, he flipped partially and brought his feet to the underside of the Grimm and kicked.

The massive Manticore was thrown up into the air above the streets of Vale by the man's kick, soaring at least thirty meters into the air. If it was shocked, it did not let the sensation overcome it for more than a second, already unfolding its raven wings to stabilize itself, blocking the sun again.

The Guardian smashed to the ground into a crouching position, creating a crater at his landing site. Wasting no time, he opened his magical circuits, readying the black bow in one hand.

"Trace, on." He declared, holding his other hand out to the side. Instead of a normal arrow, a large, twisted, thorn-like sword rested vertically on his palm. It exuded massive amounts of pure, unadulterated power in the form of red electricity crackling around it.

He drew back his bowstring, nocking the unconventional weapon. If he'd been holding a normal bow, it would've snapped under the pressure. However, his black bow was anything but. It had been crafted to fire the weapons of heroes that had been reformed as projectiles, and then reinforced it could withstand firing Broken Phantasms of the highest caliber.

The blade he was using now was one such weapon. It was the legendary sword of Beowulf, used against the mother of Grendel herself. It would seek its target to matter how hard they tried to evade, and with the Manticore making a surprisingly nimble and quick target, he needed to ensure his victory.

 _"I am the bone of my sword."_ He chanted. The words themselves held so much weight. Any Grimm within a hundred meters of the man froze as he spoke those oppressive words, fearing the power underneath the man's voice. The energy around him crackled with raw power, hinting at just a fraction of the true might that he was able to pump into the Noble Phantasm.

The Manticore soared high above the air, roaring in challenge at the lone man down below him. How could one as puny as him dare to challenge the might of a Primal Grimm? It dove down to meet the Guardian, its impatience finally reaching its limits.

 _"Hrunting!"_

With that, he let the Hound of the Red Plains fly.

* * *

"I can't believe that idiot! Just after summoning him, he decides to abandon me! Who does he think he is, trying to kill that thing all on his own! Not even a team of veteran huntsmen could begin to think of doing that!" Weiss complained to no one in particular.

She attempted to peer over the ledge of the tall building, just in time to recoil back onto her rear-end as the Primal Grimm shot up high into the sky, almost taking her up with it. It roared furiously, unable to comprehend how a human like that strange man could possibly challenge it.

As she finally looked down into one of the streets below her what she saw made her jaw drop to the floor.

"No way..." she gasped. His position on the ground was eaten up by a large cyclone of debris and red Aura. The thing he had notched in his bow radiated more power than she's ever felt in one place in her whole life. And with his next words, that power was only amplified.

"I am the bone of my sword." He chanted. Weiss couldn't help but shudder at his declaration. His words seem twisted and distorted. How could they not be? The crackling of the energy around him became even more violent and chaotic. The Grimm around this strange man's position froze, but his actions just served to anger the Manticore even further.

It roared once more, diving down to finally eradicate its prey and send it into oblivion. Weiss' eyes told her that this was the day they would both die, but deep down she knew that the man would emerge victorious.

 _"Hrunting!"_ He shouted, the mighty Manticore matching his cry with a roar that split the skies.

He let his arrow fly.

Instead of shooting out at it like a normal arrow, the weapon morphed into a mass of red energy, shooting out at the Grimm even before it reached below the tops of the buildings around it. The meeting of the two forced spawed a massive explosion in the sky. The very air shook, a massive blast wave expanding from the epicenter of the collision, clearing all the debris around the site of impact and pushing the girl back down onto her bottom. Weiss had been unable to brace herself, only able of shielding her face with her own arms as the shockwave passed over her. When it was all over and the heiress felt safe enough to lower her arms, she found herself incapable of movement.

The sky was devoid of any traces of the beast. She looked down in the street where the man was and saw what at first looked a lump of black mass trying to trudge its way towards him.

It was the Manticore, bloodied and far worse for wear. Both of its wings were reduced to mere stumps and it seemed to have part of its bone crown cracked off. It lacked the agility or ferocity it once held, being reduced to a mere cripple with only a single blow. It crawled towards the man at an pathetically slow pace – she could walk faster than that!

"I'll admit, I'm truly impressed; I was certain that attack would annihilate you." the man nonchalantly announced. He lazily walked towards the once mighty creature, intent on ending it once and for all.

He summoned his most favored weapons to his hands. A pair of Chinese twin swords, representing the concepts of Yin and Yang. They were Kanshou and Bakuya, the married swords. Their originals required the power of human sacrifice to make, the wife of the blacksmith who made it throwing herself in the furnace he used to make the blades. Archer knew that his own projections were mere forgeries of the originals, but he could feel as if his own swords possessed a greater quality than they had ever used to before. Even if they could not match the originals, his copies was much closer to them than ever before.

The Manticore seemed to try and swipe one last time at its opponent, but it's 'attack' would be better described as a desperate swat, as if the monster was desperately trying to keep the Counter Guardian away from it. Archer merely sidestepped its claws as he brought up his swords to finally rid the world of the disgusting creature before him. Striking down both with swords at the same time, he plunged his blades into the beast's skull and put an end to its existence.

After the Primal Grimm faded away into nothing, the being summoned by the Schnee heiress casually jumped to the top of the building where he had left the girl.

He looked her over, scrutinizing her form. "You're hurt. Stay here, I'll eliminate the rest of these pests. I'll make sure to avoid any bystanders or allies."

Before he left, she shouted out at him, "Exactly who or what are you? No huntsman could take that thing down like you did! Just what kind of broken Semblance do you possess?"

He looked over his shoulder, a small smirk adorning his visage. "I do not know what you mean by 'Semblance.' I'm just a mere Servant."

"Don't lie to me!" Weiss replied, unable to believe what this stranger was spewing from his mouth.

"Very well. You may call me... Archer. As for what I am... I suppose I'm just a lowly Guardian." His smirk just grew at the latter portion, belying a hidden bit of knowledge Weiss was in no way privy to.

Before she could think of a response, he leapt up onto the highest vantage point in the area: the water tower he'd first went to with Weiss after fleeing the Manitcore, his familiar black bow again materializing in his hand mid-jump.

Archer hadn't noticed it earlier, but now, without more pressing concerns weighin on his mind, he couldn't not notice; his projections were stronger, more real than they had ever been. Gaia's influence seemed to be quite small, microscopic even compared to what he was used to. Without it, there was virtually nothing to deem his projections unnatural, keeping them grounded in existence for much longer.

Alaya was also weaker. He was no longer bound by the will of the Counter Force, and all that he could determine about the threat to humanity was what he had been able to discern on his own. With both planetary forces so weak, he could only imagine the dismal state that humanity was in. As he peered around, the technology seemed to either match or in some cases exceed that of his own world, but he would have to investigate this matter further, once he had dealt with the current monster infestation.

"Trace, on."

Around him, a few dozen swords formed. They were beautiful yet all of them were utterly deadly. Weapons such as halberds and lances were formed, at least a few examples of every type of weapon in his arsenal. Gazing around the city below him, he saw that there were only a few Grimm that seemed like they would be able to withstand more than one or two of his standard arrows. Even those creature only warranted bringing out a few of his slightly stronger weapons to take care of them if he wanted to get the job done as quickly as possible. No Noble Phantasms, of course, just a few of the Mystic Codes he had seen over the years.

Weiss shook on feet, staring up at the true monster before her, watching as he called forth power she had never imagined existing with just a thought. She was glad that he was on their side, but all the same, she had a deep instictive fear of what this man could do if he ever decided to turn that power on the people of Remnant.

"Is this the real power of his Semblance, making weapons out of Aura? I've never seen anything like this..." she trailed off, unable to fully comprehend this newcomer's display of power.

He notched an arrow into his bow and took aim at the sea of blackness below. Down in the plaza where the main fight was still happening, the remainder of team RWBY was being guarded by Dr. Oobleck. Blake had finally retrieved by Ruby, Yang was awake but was forced to use her little sister as support to stand up. And the green haired professor was having a great amount of difficulty keeping the Grimm away from his students.

* * *

"Ugh... Yang, you're heavyyy," Ruby complained, though in reality she was just getting weak. Looking around the plaza turned battlefield, all the little Reaper could feel was utter despondence. She did not even know where her partner had ended up, but she just hoped that Weiss wasn't hurt, or even worse, dead.

She never expected her first mission to go so horribly. It was supposed to be a simple seach and destroy mission; just go out and kill a bunch of Grimm. But the White Fang and Roman Torchwick just had to cause a ruckus and, to put it lightly, mess things up for everyone.

"Where's Weiss, Rubes?" Yang noticed the lack of her white themed member as she regained her bearings, clutching her head with one hand as she felt a strong headache come over her from being knocked out cold earlier. The blonde brawler was completely drained of her Aura after her little brush with the Manticore.

"I... don't know, Yang. But she's tough! She's okay, I… I know she is..." Ruby trailed off, not wanting to continue that line of thought. Even if the youngest member of Team RWBY didn't voice it, they all knew she was truly scared. She didn't want to think about her friends getting hurt, and she couldn't even comprehend the idea that one might even be dead. When Weiss went off to fight that Manticore, Ruby had had to fight the urge to go back her up, but she needed to go and help her sister.

* * *

 _"I am the bone of my sword."_

* * *

Team JNPR was not too far off, protecting a small group of civilians from the Grimm around their positions. Most of them weren't faring much better than the other huntsmen in the area, but a certain Mistralian Champion at their side, this group of students were able to do this much.

However, they saw yet another mass of Grimm charging towards their position. Once they arrived, the hostile count would triple, and with their current status, team JNPR wouldn't be able to hold the rest of them back.

"Pyr... what do we do?" Jaune croaked out, backing up at the sudden appearance of the Grimm, already worn out from defending the people behind him.

"... I don't know, Jaune," Pyrrha replied, unable to think of an adequate answer for her blonde knight. Despite how long they had been fighting, the Invicible Girl continued to slay her enemies one by one, but everyone got tired. Everyone's Aura had a limit. Soon, she wouldn't be able to adequately support the rest of her own team, assuming that they didn't give out before her.

But then a strange sound all caught their attention, and both Team JNPR nervously looed toward the sky to see what the cause was, only to gape at what came raining down.

* * *

Archer pulled back his arrow until it was fully drawn, aimed… then released.

Then one arrow became hundreds. And hundreds became thousands.

 _"Trace bullet, fire!"_ With those words, Archer let his more specialized tools of war fly toward their own targets, and then stood back to watch as his weapons did their gruesome work, silently guiding their trajectories.

None of the monsters were safe. It didn't matter if they weren't in his direct line of sight, he could still sense their taint. Before they even realized they were in danger, the Grimm found themselves impaled by the storm of arrows that were streaking across the sky, while those of who were above the standard rank and file were given the privilege of being a target of a Mystic Code that the Counter Guardian had brought out just for them.

* * *

When the sky started spitting out red arrows, all of Team JNPR thought they had gone insane. But as they watched the arrows impact upon the Grimm, they realized that this was real.

They had been saved.

There wasn't a single Grimm left to spare, every last one of them had been struck by those red arrows and were now fading away. Some of the larger, more powerful Grimm had suddenly been consumed in explosions, oddly enough, but the end result was the same.

Pyrrha had her Semblance ready to deflect any of the oncoming projectiles, but found that despite how close some of the monsters had been, she and her team had nothing to worry about. Every one of those countless arrows had struck the Grimm with pinpoint accuracy.

The others similarly still had their defenses up, but were just as astounded to see that every Grimm around them had been wiped from the face of Remnant. They all lowered their guard, not just due to relief, but awe, as the seemingly endless sea of Grimm had been annihilated in mere seconds. Thousands upon thousands of the beasts perished that day.

Meanwhile, back in the main plaza, Team RWBY, Team CFVY, and the Professors could not begin to understand what had just happened.

Team CFVY was shellshocked. All those Grimm gone… just like that. Velvet was still holding a wire-frame copy of Coco's minigun in her hand, keeping a lookout in case any of the monsters had somehow survived. Coco had taken a bad hit, and was lying down on the ground, clutching her bleeding side.

Professor Goodwitch had also recently arrived and had been assisting Professor Port in battling through the Grimm, the two of them trying to reach Team CFVY's position to provide aid. Fortunately, the red arrows had solved that particular problem altogether. Professor Goodwitch was the first one in the group to regain her senses and used her Semblance to plug the hole in the ground where the Grimm had emerged from before any more of the beasts could break through.

As for Archer himself, the Counter Guardian had stopped his assault once all of the sources of tainted mana and energy had faded away into nothingness. He went to pick up the girl who had summoned him before hopping down to street level and walking back towards the plaza where the majority of the fighters were left at a leisurely pace. The agent of the Counter Force found that she was now unconscious, finally succumbing to the strain of the battle. The summoning had taken a lot out of her, and it had only been through her own willpower that she'd stayed awake as long as she had.

Once the man in red reached the plaza, he could see around a dozen people, many of them still teenagers, still staring at the now deserted streets around them, apparently unable to believe that his volley of arrows had truly killed every single Grimm.

Team JNPR reached the position just a bit after Archer did, staring at the back of the strange man that appeared out of nowhere, carrying Weiss in his arms.

Jaune was the first to speak, noticing the petite girl in the man's arms. "Who are you?! What happened to Weiss!" His voice held a rarely seen fervor, put on edge seeing that the snow angel was knocked out cold, and was also bleeding.

"Relax, boy. Your friend here, is in no danger whatsoever, at least not from me. She's just unconscious. I'm guessing that summoning me, plus the part she played in the battle, took a lot out of her." Archer reassured him. It did nothing to assuage everyone's fears, however.

"Summoning you? What do you-" Ren began, confused at the strangers words.

"Oh my god, oh my god, Weiss you're okay! Give her here! We need to clean her up!" Ruby interrupted, just happy that her best friend was still alive.

"Very well." With that, he handed down Weiss's unconscious body down to the rosette, who scooped her up and lay her gently on a patch of grass next to them.

Before Archer could react, the short girl in red jumped up and hugged him tightly. "Thank you thank you so much, mister! I was so worried for her but you brought her back! I can't thank you enough!"

"Er, it's no problem, I was just doing what anyone would've," Archer replied, somewhat taken aback by the girl's actions.

…She was still hanging onto him.

He could see tears of joy forming in her eyes, happy that her partner and best friend had made it out of this disaster safely.

Ruby finally let go of him and went to tend to her partner. The other two girls in her team surrounded Weiss's downed form, wiping the blood that they could off her form. The girl in black seemed to shoot him a narrow and suspicious look, however it was soon gone as she refocused her attentions on Weiss.

"Thank you, sir. You managed to bring our friend back to us. We were worried, especially when she went to face that Primal Grimm on her own," he heard from behind him. He turned around. The speaker was a tall girl with bright scarlet hair and a pale complexion. She was wearing a set of bronze armor and a matching circlet in her hair.

"It's no problem Miss..." Archer started.

"Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos," the girl completed for him.

"-Miss Nikos."

The blond haired boy came up next to her and looked a bit sheepish. "Sorry, sir, for yelling at you earlier. It was just that I was a bit jumpy and Weiss was hurt, and I..."

"I get it, kid. It's fine." Archer replied.

"Well, that aside, I just wanna say thanks for saving her. We… we honestly can't thank you enough. But, I gotta wonder where all those arrows came from. And what was with some of the Grimm exploding? Did you see how that happened?" Jaune wondered, hand on his chin and looking towards the sky.

Everyone seemed to hear him and fell silent, all turning to look at the white haired bowman.

"What's everyone looking at him for? It's not like he... oh."

Nobody was willing to ask, so the question remained hanging in the air as Archer stayed silent too.

After a pregnant silence, he finally answered what was on everyone's minds. "Yes, those were my arrows and my swords."

Some of the students widened their eyes at the declaration. The mere notion of one man to be able to basically single-handedly deal with the Breach was astounding, but to do it as quickly as he had defied logic. On the other hand, the students of Beacon, and even their teachers for that matter, had barely put a dent in the Grimm that invaded the city.

If they had been out in the wilderness, the horde would have been somewhat more manageable as they could've focused on simply laying waste to the enemy of human and faunus alike. In the city, however, things were different. Huntsmen and huntresses could rarely bring out their full arsenal; they often had to be concerned with preserving infrastructure, protecting noncombatants, and keeping the Grimm contained rather than eliminating them outright. This man, however, had dealt with the entire threat by himself in a single attack, all while causing minimal damage to the city.

Dr. Oobleck finally stepped up, finally asking another question everyone was wondering. "Just who are you, sir? I am most grateful for your assistance and releived that you were able to return my student – albeit a bit roughed up – you are dressed as if you were a huntsman yourself, but I've never seen or heard of anyone that matched your description, and given your most recent feat I find that most odd. Did you just arrive in Vale today?"

"You could say that I arrived only moments ago. But as for being a 'huntsman' I am not. I am just a Guardian."

"Guardian, in what way do you mean? Are you Weiss' bodyguard? Or perhaps her caretaker?" Dr. Oobleck tried to make sense of the man's words, and it didn't help that he did not say where it was he hailed from. It seemed most likely that he was of Vacuoan descent, with his tanned skin. And his outfit seemed to have traces of the ways their clothing was designed. His accent however was very difficult to place…

"No, I'm just the person who's called in to clean up the mess when all else has failed." Archer ruefully mused, partly to himself.

"…I'm afraid I really don't understand what you mean, good sir." the green haired professor frowned in confusion.

"It doesn't really matter. If you're truly curious we can continue this conversation later. Right now we need to get the wounded to a location where they can receive proper medical attention, and also inform the public that the situation with these monsters has been taken care of. The last thing we need right now is the city panicking."

Oobleck blinked as he remembered that there was still the aftermath of this Grimm infestation to deal with. "Yes… yes of course. Mr. Daichi, can you take Ms. Schnee from Ms. Rose's hands? I shall call for a couple Bullheads to take the students back to Beacon, and maybe this man can explain to Professor Ozpin what has happened here. I'm sure the headmaster will have many questions for… our new guest here."

Once said Bullheads appeared in the sky and Yatsuhashi gently picked up Weiss' form, Oobleck looked back at the mysterious hero of the day. "If you don't mind, I, along with many others, would appreciate it if you were board one of the Bullheads headed for Beacon, and answer some of the Headmaster's questions. He is very curious about you, as we all are, I imagine."

Archer took a moment to think. He saw no harm in disclosing a small amount of information, as he could not sense the Grail and he had no Master, meaning there was no war and no other Servants for him to worry about. And despite his certainty that Alaya was at least partly responsible for his being here, he was capable of freethought. He did not know how much longer his form could be maintained, however, without something to anchor him to this world or supply him with mana. He could sense an immense concentration of mana where the girl had summoned him, but he had more immediate matters to attend to.

"That'll be fine. I'll answer your questions, provided that the they're reasonable, of course." Despite his power, the Counter Guardian was in no position to antagonize these people. He only had so much mana, after all, and he'd rather not waste it making unnecessary enemies, at least until he found a reliable method to replenish it.

"Of course. Now then! Let us be off! You must be tired from all this fighting. I know the rest of us certainly are."

* * *

Weiss didn't know what exactly she was witnessing. It must have been a dream of some sort, for the images she saw were not any of her own life or even Remnant.

She saw the man she had seemingly summoned, fighting brutally with another person, no, another superhuman. The other one was garbed in a blue skintight suit, with silver lines adorning his attire. He carried an ornate spear, the color of blood. Even if this was a dream, she could feel the utter power and cursed origins that the spear had.

She saw the man in blue throw his cursed weapon, and it clashed with the purple barrier the man in red had used to defend her. She saw all seven layers shatter, then the scene faded.

The ice user found herself staring at a barren hill, broken swords littered around her. She had seen this before. The man she summoned was also in the scene, bloodied and battered, clothes ripped.

She knew she had seen this before. Right when she touched the jewel for the first time.

Yes... this was the man with the snow kissed hair and the sun kissed skin she had seen ten long years ago in her dreams.

"Archer!" She heard a girl's voice shout out. Was what he called himself. An archer...

"I'll try my hardest from now on." Weiss heard him tell the girl with the red sweater. She looked to be around Weiss' age, maybe a bit younger, like Ruby.

The image faded to black. She blinked a few times and found herself lying down, her head in someone's lap.

"Ah, I see that you're awake, girl." She gazed up into silver eyes that seemed to see into her soul. "We have much to discuss. But for now, you should get some more rest."

With that, she faded in Morpheus's embrace, but this time, into a dreamless, peaceful sleep.

* * *

"So, hot stuff, what's your name?" The only person that could even think of conjuring up a question like this one after everything that had just happened was, of course, Beacon's resident brawler.

However minor, it irked Archer all the same if only because of her brazenness. Not to mention that even if one were to go just by his physical age, he was still clearly quite a bit older than the huntress-in-training, a fact that was only exaggerated by his white hair. Couple that with his tanned skin and steel-grey eyes, and he could guess that having so many distinctive features combined with his muscled figure gave him an exotic look. The other thing about this girl that irritated Archer a bit was the way she seemed to treat him as a piece of meat, something he'd never appreciated. It didn't help matters that the bullhead ride would be much longer than he initially thought.

He was suddenly jealous of the other group that took a different bullhead to Beacon.

"Aren't you a little young for me?" he turned to her, an eyebrow raised.

"Nonsense!" Yang exclaimed. "I'm already old enough to drink! Mind you, I don't do it that much, but we can always go to a nightclub together sometime. You up for it?"

"That worries me even more; you're clearly enough of a handful as it is when you're sober." Archer shook his head. Looking at Yang, she was definitely pleasing on the eyes. However, her personality was still highly immature for his tastes, at least from what little he had seen of her.

"So…" Ruby chose that moment to speak up awkwardly. "You never did tell us your name."

"Where I come from, it's considered impolite to ask for someone else's name without first giving your own." Archer replied without missing a beat.

"Oh! Right, of course, sorry, um," the girl stammered before getting her tongue in order. "I'm Ruby Rose, that over there is Blake, this is my big sister Yang, and the girl with her head on your lap is Weiss." the girl introduced her teammates, indicating each one as she named them.

"Thank you Ruby." the Counter Guardian replied. Before he could say anything else, Yang jumped back in.

"So c'mon, spill! We've told you our names, now tell us yours! Unless of course you want me to just keep calling you Hot Stuff?" Yang smirked.

Archer turned his head so that he was facing both girls as he gave his response. "I honestly don't know what my real name is, and the name I took after is one that I gave up a long time ago." He saw both girls about to open their mouths, Ruby to ask a question and Yang to make another witty comment, no doubt.

"However," he said before either could speak, "if you wish to call me something, then I believe the most fitting name for me now would be Archer."

"Oohh? Archer huh? Sounds mysterious, right Ruby? He's pretty hot, too! Have I mentioned that?"

"Yaa~ang," Ruby drawled out, exasperated with her sister's antics. Despite everything though, she was still worried for Weiss. The rosette was very thankful for Archer's intervention in the Breach, and if he hadn't done so, her partner could've been killed, along with many others. There had already been a few civilian casualties, and there surely would've been more if Archer hadn't shown up.

On the same note, his Semblance was incredible! It seemed that it had something to do with making or controlling all those arrows, but the sheer amount of weapons seemed like too much to justify carrying them around or using something like Pyrrha's semblance to move them around like that. The idea that anyone could do what Archer had done was nothing less than mind blowing for Ruby, and the thought of all those weapons he had made the little Reaper start to drool. She would have to ask him about them.

"Sooo..." Ruby began. She really wasn't that good with people she didn't know, "does your Semblance have something to do with swords, Mister Archer?"

"Semblance?" the man questioned. He had heard the term being thrown around quite a bit. "I have never heard of 'Semblances'. Is it some form of magecraft?"

"Whaaaat? Nooooo, pshht, what is that, magic? Wait… well, actually, I guess you could say that Aura and Semblances are kind of like magic... But are you serious? I thought you were a huntsman?" Ruby was a bit surprised. With his abilities, she at least thought he's been trained as a huntsman, what with how he dealt with the Grimm.

"I take it that's what you call people who have been specially trained to deal with those creatures? Then no. I have never even seen those things before today."

That answer stunned everyone in the bullhead. To have never seen Grimm? They all had experience with one person who had been lacking knowledge of Aura and Semblances before coming to Beacon, but to never have seen or heard about Grimm? That was absurd.

"How..." Blake spoke out for once. This just made her even more suspicious of the man before her. He appeared out of nowhere, saved the heir of the Schnee Dust Company along with several students of Beacon, numerous civilians, and even a few professors. No one knew anything about this man, and now he claimed to have never seen Grimm before? For all they knew, he would use his new hero status as leverage to conduct any actions or operations against her friend's family and even Beacon, if not Vale itself. And if he'd never seen Grimm before, what could he be fighting against that would justify acquiring the kind of power he wielded?

Blake knew next to nothing about this 'Archer' save that he was dangerous. And the more she thought about him, the less she trusted him.

"Haven't I said? I was summoned by your friend here," he answered.

"But how! Her glyphs have never been able to do anything like that? I'm very glad that you were able to save her, but how do we know you're not here to take advantage of her? She is the heir to the SDC," Blake said, letting some of her suspicion bleed into her question.

Archer was a bit annoyed at this. Granted, during the last Holy Grail War, he did abandon his Master, but it didn't do anything to keep his annoyance from growing.

Archer sighed. "I do understand your concerns, and I realize that to you I am a powerful unknown who has appeared with almost no explanation. All I can offer you right now is my word that I will not harm you or any of your friends, simply due to the fact that I have no reason to."

"You can't honestly expect me to trust you on your word alone," Blake frowned, gripping Gambol Shroud tightly, though not raising it.

The Counter Guardian looked at her, and Blake felt her frown deepen as she saw what looked like approval in his eyes.

"Of course not. Frankly I'd think you a fool if you did. If you cannot trust my word, trust that, for the time being at the very least, I will not harm you simply for the fact that it would do me more harm than good. Just as you all know very little about me, I know very little about where it is that I've been summoned to. I need information, and the place where we're going will most likely be able to help with that. If I killed or even so much as harmed any of you, that task would become far more difficult."

Another concern of Archer's was his limited supply of mana. He hadn't expended all that much really, but without a steady supply he wouldn't last in this world for very long.

It seemed that some of the munitions and weapons that these children used were each saturated with a considerable amount of mana. Perhaps if he got enough of that, he might be able to use it sustain his existence. He'd already tested it on a couple rounds he'd managed to snatch from the little scythe-wielder when she hugged him. He just needed a steady supply.

"As for how I am here," he continued. "All I can say is that I was most likely brought here through your friend's Semblance, if her Glyphs are what I believe they are." he lied. He was pretty sure that he wasn't completely summoned by the girl herself, as the amount of mana needed to even bring his real body into the world could only be brought about by a supernatural entity that commanded immense power, such as Alaya or the Holy Grail. However, with the presence of Alaya being extremely weak, and no connection to any kind of support system, he wasn't entirely sure. The girl had obviously done something to bring him here. He couldn't say that, however, whether or not these people knew about magecraft. Archer was becoming more and more certain that he wasn't on the Earth he was familiar with.

Oddly enough, his memory was intact for the most part. He remembered the most recent version of the fifth Holy Grail War particularly well, with Saber, Shirou, Rin, and the Matou boy. Most surprisingly, he remembered much of his past life. He remembered the things he did before becoming a Guardian as well as afterwards. Granted, he had finally accepted the path his choices had taken him down and laid down his regrets due to his fight with Shirou Emiya, but the memories were still a source of bitterness for him.

Blake didn't reply, but she did force herself to relax a bit. She'd find out more about the mysterious man at a later date. Right now they had to bring Weiss to the infirmary. A short time later the Bullhead touched down at Beacon at long last. Soon, they all could finally get some rest.

The side door opened, and the passengers were greeted by the headmaster himself. Archer thought the man was dressed a bit strangely, but then again, this person's clothing was honestly mundane compared to the other outfits he'd seen so far.

"Welcome back, Team RWBY," he greeted, cup of coffee in one hand and a cane held in the other. " I'm sure that you have much to tell me about your little trip. But please, bring Weiss to the infirmary. I must congratulate you, before you go. Had it not been for you all, the Breach would have been much worse."

"I-it was nothing, Professor Ozpin! Actually, it was Mister Archer here that did, like, almost all of the work!" Ruby stuttered at the praise and pointed towards the aforementioned man, who was carrying Weiss bridal style in his arms.

"Ah yes, the hero of the hour! Now, who might you be, exactly? A huntsman of great caliber, perhaps?" Ozpin questioned, his eyes glinting with curiosity. Archer peered into the man's eyes, and found nothing but unadulterated intelligence and suspicion.

Archer identified the headmaster as an incredibly cunning man on the spot, and realized he'd have to tread carefully around this one. The gleam in his eyes and the commanding aura he gave off alerted him to the headmaster's hidden power. He needed to consider what he could tell the man without arousing undue suspicion, but at the same time keep some rather sensitive information to himself.

"You can call me Archer, sir. I'm not a hunstman, but if you insist on knowing more about me I'd be willing to indulge a few question later on. In private."

"Yes, yes. You all must be very tired. Mister Archer, can you stop by my office later on, during a time which you're free? I need to compile a report about the incident, and given the role you played in resolving it, I would be very thankful if you were there to clarify a few things. I can have Glynda escort you there." Ozpin said, catching onto Archer's preference for solitude. "Also, if you are going to be staying here for an extended period of time, I cannot expect you to sit around on a bench. If you like, I can find an open room for you to rest in for now, will that be fine?"

Archer had to think about it for a second. He would've declined, but in his current situation he would take any assistance he could. He also needed to find out more about this world in general, and this was his first real opportunity to do just that. And he definitely had to learn more about those creatures he fought before… Grimm, these people called them.

Weiss would also need to be protected. At the very least, he needed to keep the girl alive to find out more about how he was summoned. The bowman would act as if she was his Master in the meantime, out of respect for Rin's memory if nothing else. Thinking about it surprised him, as he normally would've been highly object to doing so. One part of him thought that it was only to keep the knowledge he knew regarding his existence and the summoning secret, but another part knew that the boy, Shirou Emiya, as well as Rin had a greater effect on him than he was willing to admit.

"I believe I will take you up on that offer. But as much as I would like to rest my head, there are a few things that need to be discussed between the two of us as soon as possible. I can rest later on," Archer assured.

Ozpin caught the urgency buried underneath his voice in his request. "Very well. Team RWBY, please take Weiss off of his hands. Come Archer, we can talk this over in my office with some coffee."

As RWBY left to take Weiss to the infirmary, Ozpin gestured for Archer to follow him. Ozpin could only hope that the Counter Guardian's appearance would not add complications to the war he was already fighting. He already had much to deal with. This man dressed in red and black seemed to be extremely skilled and powerful beyond belief from the other Professor's had just reported to him over the scroll, and if he became an adversary, Ozpin feared for what that might mean for the state of Vale.

On the other hand, if he got Archer on his side, it just might turn the tide of this secret war.

* * *

"So, Mister Archer," Ozpin began cooly, walking behind his desk and taking a seat. "I'm sure you have much to tell me. Let us begin with something that is both simple and easy: Who are you?"

"There's actually a great deal more to that question than you seem to think, Headmaster," the bowman replied, taking a seat in front of the veteran hunter's desk. "You'll have to be a bit more specific."

Ozpin took a slow sip of his coffee, eyeing the man carefully. "Very well then. Are you a huntsman, perchance? Or at least received training as one?"

"If you are referring to those glorified monster killers of yours, then I would have to say no to both questions," Archer answered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Hmm," Ozpin frowned. "Us huntsmen are far more than that, you see. We exist to keep the peace. Inspire people and bring hope to those who need it. We do not simply kill the Grimm. We preserve mankind."

"If you call that spectacle I witnessed 'preserving mankind', then mankind must truly be in shambles," Archer said. If this vital task was being delegated to children of all people, he would not have to look much further to explain Ayala's weakened state in this world.

Ozpin put down his mug and sighed, "Yes, all kidding aside, the initial response to the Breach today could have been handled much better. Team RWBY did much better than any academy would have expected them to under the circumstances, but understand, they are still in training. Children they are, but I sometimes cannot stop thinking about how the fate of the world will one day rest upon their shoulders. All I can really do to help them is guide their education and assist them in their training as best as possible. From what we have seen today, it seems I still have much to do, with all of my students.

"Back to our conversation," Ozpin continued, "you say you are not a huntsman, but your mastery over your Semblance and battle expertise say otherwise. Now pardon me if I'm being presumptuous, but I cannot help but be a bit disbelieving when you say that you are not a huntsman."

"One need not to be a hunter of beasts to be able to fight."

"Very true. However, if you are not a huntsman, then the list of remaining career paths that would necessitate having such skills becomes quite narrow, would you not agree?"

Archer knew what he was implying. If he did not fight monsters, that meant he fought people. And with the Counter Guardian not claiming to be serving in any active military body, Ozpin would logically assume that he was a mercenary, an assassin, or even a terrorist. Even though the Heroic Spirit had just saved several of Ozpin's students, Archer knew that the headmaster was too smart to merely let this slide as an act of good will.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. But Headmaster, why should I feel obligated in any way to tell you anything about who I am? Surely, you know that a man is entitled to keep his secrets," Archer smoothly replied.

"Indeed, but if these secrets threaten to harm my students, Beacon, or Vale, you will understand what I am obligated to do."

Archer had already decided that he was going to tell the man a few things, one of which the matter of him being of a Counter Guardian. But only if Ozpin could prove that he was acting for the benefit of humanity. And given the circumstances, there was one way he could test that at the moment.

"...!" Ozpin felt something happen behind his back, and saw that a sword was situated directly behind him, outside of his office. He could already tell it was pointed at a student. Wasting absolutely no time, he broke the glass and intercepted the sword with his cane just as it was being launched, making the weapon lodge itself into a nearby tower. Diving into the ground, he rolled and jumped a few times up the tower to reach his office.

The enigmatic Archer was still there, smirking at his apprent failure to kill one of Ozpin's students.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, preparing his cane for combat. "Have you no shame?"

"Calm yourself, Headmaster. I was just testing something, is all," Archer coolly explained.

Ozpin didn't seem to loosen up at those words. "Tell me, what would have happened if your so called test had failed, and I had not been able to deflect the sword in time?"

"Oh don't give me that," Archer smirked. "I got a good feel of your power the moment I met you. And given the way you claim to truly care for the wellbeing of your students, I am confident that you would've been capable of stopping at least a hundred blades, let alone just one.

Ozpin caught the meaning behind this and put his cane down, leaning on it. "Pray tell, if I hadn't been the man that you thought I was, would you have been comfortable with having an innocent child's blood on your hands?"

This time the eyes that Archer looked at Ozpin with were comprised of cold, merciless steel. "The amount of blood I've shed over the course of my existence could literally fill an ocean, Headmaster. I would be far from pleasing to have an 'innocent child's' blood on my hands, but know that while it was against my own will, I have done far worse than that more times than I care to think about. Regarding your concern though, even if you had been unable to stop the blade, I would've merely made it disappear with a thought." Ozpin widened his eyes at that. "And if you had been unwilling to save your own student, then I would have redirected it back to you, along with many others."

The gray haired headmaster raised his eyebrow at that. "Tell me, if you think I am capable of stopping a hundred of your blades from so much as scratching any of my students, what makes you believe you would've been able to kill me, Mister Archer?"

Archer's smirk reappeared at that. He didn't really have all that much mana left, but it would certainly be more than enough to make this man realized just how outclassed he was in the face of a Heroic Spirit.

"Trace, on."

In his hands, he traced the first sword of a king he once knew.

 _Judging the concept of creation._

Its one purpose was for the sword pulled from the stone to determine the One True King.

 _Hypothesizing the basic structure._

A magnificent longsword, embellished with beautiful golds and deep royal blues, ancient runes adorning its fuller.

 _Duplicating the composition material._

Only the finest of all steels can bear its power, passed down through the ages.

 _Imitating the skill of its making._

It was created in the likeness of Sigurd's Gram, the mightiest of all demonic swords.

 _Sympathizing with the experience of its growth._

When removed from its stone, the chosen ascended beyond mortality to rule all of England.

 _Reproducing the accumulated years._

It had made its way unto a rock in Briton from the Treasury of the Golden King of Uruk.

 _Excelling every manufacturing process._

It was the Golden Sword of the Victorious, the Sword that bestowed the Divine Right of Kingship unto King Arturia Pendragon of Camelot, the King of Knights.

 **Caliburn.**

It was the Sword of the Victorious, the sword he had once used to slay Heracles, the greatest of all the Greek Heroes. A fitting sword for a true king.

Archer could not help but feel extremely surprised. The mana drain was much less than he had anticipated, at least, compared to his last tracing of it. Still, its quality seemed surreal, and only now he could truly understand how weak the planetary forces really were if they weren't able to limit his projections and erase them.

This only led him to smirk wider as he observed Ozpin's shocked reaction. The headmaster seemed to be torn between awe-struck and terror, as he had never seen such a sword, pure power exuding from it in droves.

"...What is that weapon?" Ozpin questioned carefully. Now he was beginning to understand why this man was so certain that he could strike him down, if he could call forth a sword like that.

"This is Caliburn, the Golden Sword of the Victorious, the Sword that Chooses Kings," Archer declared, still eyeing the blade that had once belonged to the only person in his entire existence that he still admired to this day. "But I honestly don't know if those titles would have any impact on you, so its name alone won't be enough."

The Counter Guardian tore his gaze from the beautiful weapon and looked directly into the Headmaster's eyes.

"Tell me, Ozpin, what is your favorite fairy tale?"

* * *

 **A/N:** **Welcome to the edited Chapter 2 of OSD! If you have read it initially, you probably were like "Wtf is this pacing? 8k words later and they're already done with the breach?" Hopefully, I have rectified this, but this was at the cost of more material, which will be added in Chapter 3. On another note, I've had an immense amount of help from Paragon of Awesomeness! If you're reading this, these changes wouldn't have been possible without you and you gave me a great deal of help thinking out the changes and the plot for the future.**

 **Rest assured, if I have any stupid ideas, they will probably be shot down and replaced with betters ones.**

 **On another note, how is the new stuff? Was Caliburn too much? I did want to use a less flashy noble phantasm to show to Ozpin, but I seriously couldn't think of too many that can inspire awe like Excalibur or Caliburn can. Gae Bolg would be a bit... lethal, Kanshou and Bakuya a bit too mundane to have an effect. There aren't too many Noble Phantasms (at least that I can think of with my physics fried mind) that have that aura of extreme power but also inspiration and warmth. I don't want to scare Ozpin away by summoning like Gae Bolg, a demonic spear that reverses causality to destroy someone's heart. Like, damn, having an instakill weapon won't be very reassuring to Ozpin. Also, it allowed me to use the fairy tale line against Ozpin, as King Arthur's legend can qualify as the sort, especially with the aspects of the Lady of the Lake and Excalibur.**

 **There were a few concerns regarding the former state of this chapter. One of which is the Aria, which I shortened down to three lines of it to make it a bit more fitting. Also, there had been the issue of how exactly Weiss could maintain Archer without the grail and the fact that they had "no connection."**

 **For this concern, I'll say this. The pendant that was gifted to Weiss seems to match another red pendant in the Fate Universe. I tried to make it as obvious as possible, but there might be an issue with how I wrote it out. That's the 'catalyst'. Catalyst is in quotes because the pendant doesn't serve the same purpose as a catalyst during a war. I find the purpose to be exactly what the chemistry term means, where it is lower the activation energy needed to start a reaction/**

 **This isn't a normal summoning, I'll say that much. The Grail had nothing to do with it. If you're familiar enough with fate lore, you should be able to conjure up a guess regarding how Archer was summoned and why he doesn't have a connection with Alaya. I did say it was much weaker, but this has more to do with the story than allowing archer freedom.**

 **Peace!**


	3. Revelations and Disputes

**Editor/Creative Assistant: Paragon of Awesomeness**

 **A/N: I need a beer.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3:**

 **Revelations and Disputes**

* * *

After the incident with the sword, the two of them sat back down in their respective seats in Ozpin's office. However the atmosphere was definitely different from before. Ozpin was still rather tense, not taking Archer's previous test completely well, even if the Counter Guardian had meant it as a way to verify his intentions. Said man was now back to sitting across the aged headmaster, and Ozpin could not help but glance at the elegant, _surreal_ , sword resting in the red man's lap every few seconds. He had seen countless weapons throughout his many years as a huntsman, from mixes of rocket launchers and axes, to Ruby's scyther rifle, and even those like Qrow's that have seen more blood than the admittedly gruesome profession usually called for.

This sword was absolutely nothing like that. It had no special forms, nothing to fire Dust rounds from, but despite all that it seemed to exude some impossible form of Aura that was in a class of its own. The power leaking from it and washing over him. The Headmaster was caught off guard by it, and the oddest thing is, he was not oppressed by the energy.

Rather, the warmth embraced him like a hug old friend, lost over the years only to meet again decades afterwards, but the sense of kinship still holding strong. Yes, that's what he felt. Ozpin was certain that if it weren't for this sword, he would be much more jittery and impatient with this Archer character, but the calming energy seemed to reassure him of the bowman's intentions, that no-one could possibly be allowed to wield that sword unless they had the purest of hearts.

"So, you're asking me, 'What's my favorite fairy tale?' Why?" Ozpin inquired, his interest piqued at the man's question but yet wary of what knowledge that the man has to offer.

"The story behind this sword can easily qualify as a fairy tale of some sort." Archer answered the man. "I ask you again: what fairy tales are you the most familiar with?"

"Hmm..." Ozpin considered, looking at the ceiling thoughtfully. "There've been dozens if not hundreds of tales I have heard over the years. There is the Tale of the Two Brothers, and that of the Shallow Sea, the Girl in the Tower, as well as the story of the seasons." Even though he didn't seem to be paying attention to Archer, he nonetheless gauged whether or not Archer had any clue behind the true meaning of these stories, especially that of the last tale, but so far, he had no reaction whatsoever.

"I've heard of similar stories before," the red man commented. "The Tale of the Two Brothers sounds like a myth from Ancient Egypt... the Girl in the Tower seems awfully like Rapunzel. However, as for the other two... the Shallow Sea I have not heard of, and the seasons..." Ozpin unconsciously leaned closer to the man to see if his suspicions weren't unfounded. The ramifications behind that knowledge being leaked out would be disastrous.

"The societies of my land had many stories, especially ones that explain how the world came to be as it is. The Greeks spoke of the goddess Persephone being dragged to the underworld by the god of death, and due to eating a few seeds of a pomegranate from his table, she was forced to stay in the underworld for a few months every year, much to the sadness of her mother Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and harvest. Demeter's sorrow of being separated from her daughter caused the land to wilt and die during those months, and so the season of winter came to be." Archer explained.

Ozpin was a bit relieved but confused by this. There was a possibility that the man was trying to cover up for his knowledge of the Seasonal Maidens, but his story was entirely different than that of the Maidens. However, with all these names thrown around, the explanation brought up more questions. Who were the Greeks? Who was Persephone and Demeter, and if they were deities, why hadn't he ever heard of them?

When Archer had said those words, Ozpin's eyes widened and he gaped at the implications of that phrase. If this man knew of the Maidens, then what could he possibly expect from the Heroic Spirit? Would he seek to take that power for himself? If the Guardian so much even had a tiny desire for it, the headmaster would have another powerful enemy to deal with.

"I've never come across of any mentions of that myth, and I have traveled to a multitude of lands," Ozpin admitted.

"I figured as much," the guardian frowned. If his suspicions were correct, there was a possibility that he ended up somewhere _much_ further from Fuyuki, or even Japan.

He began to recall the story of a certain King of Knights. "Where I hail from, there was a land once called Briton. It was ravaged by chaos due to the collapse of a great empire that once took Briton as a territory, along with many other lands. Amidst this chaos, a King rose, a king named Uther Pendragon. He bore a child with one of his servants' wives, the beautiful blue-eyed woman by the name of Igraine.

"However, this child was not the one they wished for to fulfill the prophecy that was told to him, where a successor would be born during those dark and tumultuous times to one day unite their land and transform it into a golden utopia." Archer recalled this part of Saber's story and found it to be extremely unjust. For the Once and Future King to be cast aside only because her father had hoped to find a more desirable, _male_ heir… he found it infuriating.

"However," the Wrought Iron Guardian continued. "The king bestowed this child upon a great wizard of his court, a man named Merlin, as a price for ensuring the success of his and Igraine's love. Merlin had already help ingrain the spirit of a dragon upon this child and he was the one who told Uther of the prophecy. This wizard swore to protect this child and prepare it for the great destiny which lay ahead. However, this child was a girl, which was deeply troubling to Uther for in Briton only boys could wear a crown as a king. But Merlin on the other hand was ecstatic with joy all the same, as the prophecy did not care whether or not the heir was a man or a woman.

"She was raised as the son and brother of two knights, sworn to use her sword for her country alone, on the path to knighthood herself. Before she was even fully grown, the day of the prophecy came." Archer always became a bit uncomfortable recalling this part of her story. Even though it was the point where she became the greatest king to have ever lived, Saber herself remembered it as the point where she doomed her country to ruin.

"Merlin sought candidates from all over the land, to pull the a sword embedded in a stone. An inscription on it read, "Whosoe'er pulleth out this sword of this stone is rightwise king born of England." Over and over, great knights from every corner of Briton tried to remove it from the stone, and just as many times, they failed. Eventually after countless failure they decided that if no one could pull out the sword, the selection for the new king would be decided with a jousting tournament. After the last knight gave up on the test, they all went to the jousting field, leaving the sword in the stone.

"The girl, Arturia, went up to the sword in the stone while all the knights were off at their little tournament to see which among them was the best at knocking another man off his horse with a big stick. As she reached to pull it out, Merlin came to speak with her, warning her that once she took up that sword, she would never be able to live her life as a woman, or even as a human, but as a king. However, Arturia already knew all this. She shuddered every day and night dreading the day, and despite her fear she resolved herself to become the king her country needed, even though she knew it would mean giving up her very humanity, and with it a chance for happiness. And so Arturia Pendragon took hold of the sword, and finally pulled it out of the stone. A brilliant light shined upon her, bathing the area with a golden shine as the King of Knights was chosen."

"This," Archer picked up the sword and brought it into the two men's lines of sight. "Is the sword that she pulled out of the stone. It's the first Holy Sword of King Arthur. Forged thousands of years ago, it is the Sword that Chooses the One True King, descended from Gram, the most powerful demonic sword of the Nordic Hero Sigurd. This sword chose her, and she chose to accept her destiny that wielding this sword meant. Caliburn, the Golden Sword of the Victorious."

"As beautiful as a weapon it may be," Ozpin began, "Isn't this legend you tell me of just a fairy tale? Surely this weapon is just based off of the article this King was described to have."

While Archer knew that the headmaster was partially right, in that the sword he was holding wasn't the true article, he was still incorrect in assuming that the story was a mere fantasy.

"Every fairy tale has basis in reality, headmaster, something I suspect you already know quite well. This sword is just one of the many truths behind this one," he cryptically explained.

Ozpin leaned forward further onto his desk. "Mister Archer, you speak of this king's story as if it's widely known, yet I have never heard of this King Arthur before. Tell me, where exactly do you hail from?"

"Hmm... I figured as much. I can easily tell the cultural dissonance between the lands I traveled and here. Before I could completely explain to you who I am and where I come from, can you tell me where exactly I am right now?"

Ozpin leaned back into his seat and replied, "I assume you're asking about which country you found yourself in, since you spoke of some sort of 'cultural dissonance.' We are in Vale, one of the Four Kingdoms of Remnant." He placed his scroll down onto the table and projected a map of Remnant for the man before him.

"Vale is located here," Ozpin said, pointing to the Central-Western coast of a large continent in the middle of the map, "While Atlas is located to the north," he then pointed to a large island in the north, "Vacuo is found here," he moved to point at a deserted area to the far west, "and finally, Mistral is located to the east of Vale," Ozpin finished, pointing out one of the last large continents far to the east.

"Before we continue," Archer began, "When I say Japan, United States of America, United Kingdom, China, Russia, or United Nations, do those... words have any meaning to you?"

"I'm certain that I've never heard the use of those terms before in my life," Ozpin answered.

"How about..." Archer continued, "The Mages Association, Clock Tower, Atlas Academy, Sea of Estray, Holy Church, Holy Grail War, or Heaven's Feel?"

"Hmm... Atlas Academy is the academic institution for huntsmen in the Kingdom of Atlas, but given the other terms you listed, I'm guessing that's not what you're referring to. And while there are some legends that refer to a Grail, I must say that I have not heard anything regarding a war for it. As for clock tower, you obviously don't mean any big tower with a clock on it like the one here at Beacon."

This made Archer silent. It seems as if he was right, and that he wasn't in his own world anymore. Carefully choosing what to say next, he unconsciously gripped the sheath of Caliburn, as if looking for guidance from the Holy Sword.

"I see that there is something troubling you," Ozpin observed. forcing Archer to break from his own thoughts.

"Fairy tales, like the one I just told you about the King of Knights, have some grain of truth in them," the Guardian half-answered. "As you can see, not every aspect of these stories is... as fantastical as most people believe. This sword for example, even though it came from such a fairy tale, was still real. In fact, like many other legends and tales, the whole story is real. Every little bit of it."

Archer took a deep breath before he dropped the bomb on the headmaster. "From the moment Arturia was imbued with a draconic essence, to the moment where the sword poured light upon the landscape once it was drawn. Everything I told you was true. Down to the existence of Magic."

Ozpin had to hold his breath at that. "Surely, you must be referring to the existence of Aura and Semblances?"

Archer shook his head at this, "Even though I have my suspicion's regarding what those truly are, magic, or magecraft as my people called it, goes far beyond that. Tell me, to you, what exactly is an Aura or a Semblance?"

"Aura is a manifestation of one's true soul. A power resting innately in all humans and Faunus alike, some just don't have it unlocked. It takes the form of a sort of energy or shield around an individual's body. Only people have it, not inanimate objects nor Grimm. A Semblance, however, is a manifestation of one's own abilities, a reflection of your soul. They're almost always unique to the person, though some can be passed through bloodlines. If you recall team RWBY, Ruby, the one dressed in black and red, has a Semblance which grants her immensely increased speed. I guess you could call them some form of magic in their own right."

"That may be true, but-" Archer brought up Caliburn to sight. "-this? This isn't the original article. My magecraft focuses on recreation of objects and reinforcing their attributes, especially swords and other weapons. I can even recreate an item's individual history. That's why you can feel it's power."

"Can that not just be a product of your semblance?" Ozpin asked half-heartedly, already knowing the answer to his question.

"Look at this sword again, closely," Archer requested. "Does it strike you as... different? Unique? That may be because of the energy this sword innately holds. If Aura is what I believe it is, you can already tell what makes this sword so special."

Ozpin could not help but agree with the red garbed man. That sword was not some mere piece of steel. It seemed to have a soul of its own.

"By the standards of magi where I come from, I'm just a third-rate magus, specialized only in this one aspect of magecraft. I know magi that can use jewels as bombs, protective barriers, and much more, and this one person can utilize her magical energy in order to directly worsen the health of another magus. She, too, can reinforce objects as I can, and that's only scratching the surface of how varied her magecraft is. The difference between magecraft and Semblances is that all the things this girl can do? She can teach someone else how to do it, too, provided they possess the right qualifications of course.

"And onto my existence. In my life, I was a third-rate magus. I was absolutely abysmal in every field of magecraft except reinforcement and projection. However, at one point, I learned that the only reason why this was is because I was meant for a specific branch of magecraft. My Origin and Element were both abnormal. While some people had fire, water, or other things, both of these, for me, were Sword."

 _'I Am The Bone Of My Sword.'_

Archer continued, "I strove throughout my life to become my ideal: a hero of justice. A sword to defend the innocent. I did not wish to see anyone cry if I could help it. It was my belief in this to create a contract with a force of my world: Alaya, an existence that embodies the will of humanity's desire to survive. I wished to continue striving towards my ideal of saving others even after death, hence, I became one of Alaya's _beasts,_ a Counter Guardian. I had ascended time and the Samsaric cycle, or reincarnation, in order to be called upon at any time, past or future, to do Alaya's bidding. I am the last and strongest line of defense to stand in between mankind and its destruction."

He didn't elaborate on the darker portions of his tenure, especially when he was called upon to protect humanity from itself. It wouldn't do him any favors if he told Ozpin any of it, as the man was supposed to be heading the supposed paragon of light and duty of the Kingdom of Vale.

Ozpin took a moment to properly process the information and what it entailed for his operations. Common sense dictated that the event which sparked this man's arrival was the breach itself, where mankind faced the threat of a massive Grimm invasion. However, he knew that this wasn't the only thing to consider. There was the possibility of another cataclysmic event that could even be worse than that day's breach. Even though casualties were low, if the Counter Guardian wasn't there, it would've been a complete and utter massacre.

"Let's assume that I believe what you have told me so far. From where I stand, I can tell that you obviously appeared in reaction to the Breach, but surely, there must be more," Ozpin eventually chose to say.

"Possibly, possibly not. Every time Alaya deploys me, I fade away from the world once my task is fulfilled and the threat has ended. Right now, my connection to Alaya is incredibly weak, meaning that if the Breach was indeed a disaster warranted my presence, Alaya's strength in this world is too weak to command me. Another, worse, possibility, is that the threat is far from ended, but given my lack of information about this world and my weak link to Alaya, I cannot be directed to it. But I am leaning towards the former, as Alaya hasn't been supplying me with the power that I would be receiving if I had been deployed."

"...How can this so called embodiment of humanity's will to survive be weak?" the green garbed headmaster inquired, leaning forward a bit more, disbelief bleeding into his voice. "After millennia of battling Grimm, we've come to a peak of prosperity, the four Kingdoms are more well off than ever before in history. What more can signify the desire of our species to live?"

"Tell me, what is the population of all of Remnant, Professor?"

"From the last of estimates, just over the realm of ten million, including Faunus, of course. The majority live in the Four kingdoms, as Grimm don't allow for too much expansion"

"That's it." Archer finally had a good idea of the reason why Alaya was so weak. "Where I come from, our population was just about to hit seven _billion_ when I died. And from what I've observed, there's a very good possibility that this world is, I suppose you could say descended from my own."

Ozpin sat back in his seat, his eyes wide at the bold claim. He could barely process all the ramifications of his conjecture. If Archer's was correct though... that would mean that there must have been some cataclysmic event of global scale millenia before even the founding of the four Kingdoms. It made sense that with just over .1% of the original population remaining, that this Alaya, this planetary force of mankind's will to survive, be almost completely diminished.

That had one problem, and the Headmaster couldn't leave it to be unanswered. "So, if this planetary spirit is as weak as you say, how were you... summoned here? I'm just inferring based on what you've said, but given how powerful you claim these Counter Guardians are, it must take an absurd amount of power in order to summon even one of your kind."

"I thought so, too," Archer began, "-until I noticed the amount of magical energy around my area of summoning. The girl with white hair, I believe their teammates called her Weiss, was present, and she was the only one in the vicinity. Much of the energy was focused around her, or more specifically, her rapier. I analyzed it and found that the entire blade was coated with an immense amount of magical power. I do not know what she did, and frankly I doubt she does either, but the results of it are clear."

This was problematic for Archer, as the bizarre circumstances surrounding his summoning could present issues in the future, and even though he felt no connection to the white-haired girl, if he had left something to chance, such as the possibility of the girl being completely drained of her own power, by supplying enough mana for Alaya to use to summon him. This could possibly result in her death, and he would prefer to avoid that if at all possible. Even though she seemed fine while she was being 'carried' around, it didn't mean any symptoms wouldn't pop up later on.

Ozpin would have to question the girl soon, and while he didn't wish to strain her just after she wakes up, the information she might have could be vital. The headmaster had to work with the man in front of him in the future in order to prevent any calamities. At first, he was rather distrustful, especially after the act with his flying sword. But when he had conjured up, no _created,_ the golden sword currently resting in his lap, he found himself hard pressed to distrust the bowman, even though he could hear an imaginary Glynda screaming at him to expel this man from the academy, preferably from the Kingdom of Vale, immediately.

His conversation with the man proved to stun him even further, and while he knew the man was hiding things, he was nonetheless truthful with his testimony. Working closely with Archer would allow him to find out more things he wished to understand, and see if anything the Guardian had hidden from him would warrant action.

"So, what is your goal?" Ozpin asked, the future of their alliance resting in the answer to this one question.

Archer had to contemplate his answer very carefully. He, too, knew that his answer would shape his future at Vale. After a few moments, he answered, "I have never desired fame, glory, or power. I never wanted any of that when I sought to become a hero, and even if I did I certainly didn't receive any as a Counter Guardian.

"I died at the hands of my former allies and the people I had saved, a scapegoat for one of many tragedies that I had prevented, because they could not understand why I wished to help them. But despite this I didn't harbor any ill will for them, even as I was being executed. If I wanted recognition, I would've loathed them, but instead, I died happy, taking comfort in the fact that I had spent my life doing all I possibly could to make the world a better place." He had to stop, taking a deep breath to focus himself, the discomfort resulting from delving into unsavory memories of his past.

More and more he was reminded of the boy, Shirou Emiya, who had proved the Counter Guardian wrong. No, it was more accurate to say that Shirou proved himself to be right. Archer was right, too, in a sense, but it was when he had turned his back on the ideals he had once held so dearly that he became wrong. The bowman continued, "I only wish to save as many people as possible. Even if I can't save everyone."

 _"Don't worry Tohsaka, I'll be fine. I swear, I'll try my hardest from now on,"_ the Heroic Spirit recalled his promise to Rin. At the end of the War, Shirou Emiya had a serious effect on the Guardian, even making him accept his own existence as a Hero of Justice. He was far from becoming the naive and idealistic boy once again, still somewhat bitter over the things he was forced to do for Alaya.

 _'Can I keep my promise to her? Or will I end up betrayed by my own ideals, again, and then betray them in turn?'_ he wondered. If he followed the Path of the Shura as Kiritsugu once had, he would end up abandoning his own ideals, and stomping upon the promise he made with his former Master, his former friend, his former lover. However, if he stayed true to his ideals, it was almost certain that he would be forced into the worst of spots, the tightest of corners. After all, it was impossible to save everyone.

Yet, as Shirou would've said, " _If you walk down the path that you believe is right, you cannot be wrong."_

He knew the first path would be, in the end, the easiest path to take, if he fully committed himself to the weighing of human life. But he was not that type of man. He was not Kiritsugu. If he was, then he'd be even more of a faker. He had not been brought to this world to play god. As a human, he could not act as if he was a supreme being, nor could he pretend that he knew which lives mattered more than others. Even if it was the more difficult path, he would not, _could_ not take any shortcuts.

"But...even if it's only remotely plausible, if there's the most infinitesimal chance that it can happen, _I will save this world_. I promise you that." Archer finished, with a tone of finality and resolve, as if no amount of arguing or pleading would change his mind, change his goals, change his ideals. His eyes were set straight at the grey orbs of the Headmaster, and were filled with absolute determination. His jaw was set straight, and his posture radiated confidence.

If Ozpin had heard this from any other man, he would've raised an eyebrow and change the topic. However, staring into the Guardian's powerful orbs, gazing into the man's very soul, he could not help but stare. He could not even blink, finding Archer's determination too much to do so. It was like he was staring into a mirror, gazing at his younger self, and gazing at the spirits of all the children he taught, but there was a difference. All of those wishes and promises that children make to become heroes, to save everyone, were all filled with naïveté and were bound to change.

Archer, however, was nothing but naive. He had seen the horrors of man, the horrors of war. Ozpin was certain the swords he created were invisibly stained with the blood of many. But for a man like him to claim that he would save everyone? It goes beyond the realm of the absurd, but even then, it seemed like the world and reality itself would bend to meet the will of this man completely. His tone, his voice, his determination all seemed to show that.

Many children, from his hunters-in-training, to even him and Glynda at one point in the past, wished to become the ideal he strove for, no, the ideal he _met._ The difference between Archer and those children were simple. Ozpin's students, _his children_ , wished to be Heroes of Justice. Even the greatest of hunters and huntresses wished to meet this ideal, but always fall short of it.

Archer did not need to do so. He was already a Hero of Justice. The very crystallization of his ideal.

"Very well, sir. You have my support," _and my respect,_ he silently added. "I look forward to working with a man of your caliber in the future. For now, I'll personally show you to where team RWBY is, along with Miss Schnee, of course." Ozpin stood up, and led Archer to the elevator leading back down to the ground levels.

"Do not worry about the glass, Glynda can fix it for me at a later date. Come, I'm sure that the students are eager to formally meet you."

* * *

"Well, that was a thing."

Ruby was the only one on her team that remained completely unscathed. Yang ended up with a few bruised ribs, her aura taking much of the damage being thrown into the building. Blake was faring about the same, with a few more bruised ribs as well as bruised arms from being thrown around by the Manticore. Weiss was still unconscious, but had about the same injuries as the rest of them, with a few more cuts and slashes around her body from actually fighting the beast. Her aura was completely drained, regenerating much slower than it should due to her condition. The rest of them were already almost fully healed from their injuries, so they opted to sit around their white haired teammate's hospital bed until she woke up, which according to the nurses, might take a few more hours.

Even then, she wouldn't be allowed to leave the infirmary until she'd completely healed, which would take a few more days at least. Yang couldn't even begin to imagine how incredibly boring it would be for Weiss to be stuck in a hospital bed instead of being up and about. She'd have to ask Blake for a few books to read while she's confined.

"Yup," Ruby popped the p, still not completely herself after the Breach. She was supposed to become a huntress, but she felt so helpless today, not even being able to help her own teammates in time. She didn't want to think about how things would've ended up if Archer hadn't come to Weiss' rescue, let alone what might've happened if he hadn't decided to expend the effort to eliminate the Grimm horde.

"I just can't believe we couldn't do _anything_ , to protect the city until Archer showed. Like, that guy said he wasn't even a huntsman, and he took all of the Grimm by himself! If we're going to become huntresses in just a few more years, we're gonna have to get a lot better," Ruby said. The fervor in her voice was rarely seen from the normally bright and carefree girl.

"Ruby, he's... different. Even though the guy isn't a huntsman, he's nothing like any person I've ever met, human or Faunus. Honestly, I believe that he's more powerful than some of the fully fledged huntsmen and huntresses out there," Blake explained. She knew that the Professors with them should have easily been able to deal with the Grimm, but in between hold off the monsters and protecting civilians and injured students, it was much more difficult for them to deal with the Breach. The mysterious man's Semblance seemed comparable to Pyrrha's, but he was obviously much more experienced with using it on a massive scale, with all of his weapons hitting on target. He did a better job than even any of their teachers could think of doing.

However, it was what the Faunus saw in the man's eyes that startled her. His gaze was hard, and his eyes filled with not darkness, but an odd mixture of sadness and power. It was like almost like looking into Adam's eyes again, except that she knew this man had spilled even more blood than her former friend and partner. His form radiated power, but his eyes were that of someone who'd experience not just one war, but many.

The last true war happened decades ago, but the bowman seemed to have experience something of even greater magnitude to the point where he was used to it. She'd seen veteran members of the White Fang, and none of them had eyes like Archer's. She couldn't even begin to guess what he had seen in his life, or what he had done. And that scared her.

Ruby broke Blake out of her reverie, "I know Blake, but... remember when we talked about why we wanted to be huntresses? I wanted to be like those heroes in the stories I heard growing up, saving everyone and not letting anyone innocent get hurt. People... died today Blake. If we were only better, we could've saved them..."

"Don't think like that Rubes, it's not like you," Yang spoke up this time, trying to get her sister out of her funk. "You're supposed to be the fun-loving, jumpy, bee's knees sister that we all know and love!"

Ruby smiled a bit, beginning to feel a little better. "You're right, Yang. I can't just keep thinking about this! I'll be a bad leader if I do, and like I promised Weiss, I'll be the best leader I can be! We'll all save everyone next time! We'll be heroes just like in the stories! Oh, I wanna be like the knight who saved the Princess of Mantle from the horde of Ancient Grimm! Cooler than being like a cop, or a-"

"Don't be foolish, girl."

The three girls immediately turned to the open door, where a certain tall, white-haired man dressed in red and black was leaning on the door frame.

"Wha?" Ruby asked, not really understanding what the Counter Guardian had just said to her.

Blake narrowed her eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"I've come here to check up on the girl who brought me here." The man then stood up from his leaning position and walked over to the bed side of the Schnee heiress. He seemed to examine her wounds, see if there was anything problematic with her condition.

Archer continued, "I couldn't help but overhear your friend over here talking about fairy tales and saving everyone. And I have to say, you sound like a foolish child."

"Hey!" Yang burst out, standing up. "Don't talk to my sister like that! Even if you're cute, I won't let-" Yang was cut off with a harsh glare sent towards her way, and she couldn't help but sit back down and shrink into her seat at the sight of the man's hard eyes.

"I am merely speaking the truth. She wants to save people because she wants her life to be that of fairy tales and bedside stories for children. It is nothing but childish naïveté. Better men than you have tried to save the world and failed, and you mean to tell me that at the end of the day, the reason you charge into battle against monsters and protect the innocent is because of the tales that your father told you before tucking you into bed? That _you_ want to be the knight in shining armor? Pathetic"

"Hey, you meanie! I thought you were going to be a nice guy, for saving Weiss, but you're starting to sound really rude," Ruby huffed out. "Who're you to tell me that my dream is dumb! You can't say that you can't do it until you've tried, and be-"

"I have."

Those two words silenced Ruby, her eyes widening at his declaration.

"What do you mean, you have? That you've seriously tried saving everyone? I call bull," Yang argued, a little incredulous at his statement.

"I don't care what you believe," Archer told her off. "I've a feeling that we're gonna be around each other's company far more often, so I'll say this now. I _have_ tried saving everyone. My whole life was dedicated for that one purpose. I didn't want to see anyone cry if I could help it. But during my life, I have been constantly betrayed by the same ideals that I held dearly. That's why I can speak about it with such certainty. I have fought through countless battles, seen more war than I care to remember, waded through Hell far to much for any one person, and killed more people than I ever atone for, all for what?"

The question was left hanging in the air, none of the girls able to answer the man properly. Yang just looked at the man incredulously, her arms gripping the armrests of her chair. Blake on the other hand balled her fists, looking intensely at the man with narrow amber eyes. Ruby, on the other hand, just dejectedly looked down to the ground, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes and her hands conjoined in her lap.

"I didn't want to do it because of myself, only so I could brag about what I had done. I, too, was saved, once upon a time. And all I wanted was to feel the same emotions that I saw in the face of the man when he saved me. But I wasted my life trying in vain to save someone without ever having to kill another."

He turned to leave, making his way towards the door, his back turned towards the huntresses-in-training. The air was ice-cold, and no-one dared to interrupt the tense silence.

Before Archer opened the door, however, he shot over his back, "Do not misunderstand me when I call you foolish. I believe that your wish is noble, and is worth striving for." He sighed, looking down at the white tiled floor, seemingly lost in thought.

"If you think there's even the slightest chance that your dream can be realized, you should take it. Just know that if you seek to create any kind of paradise for anyone, it will mean walking right into Hell."

He turned away from the girls. "If you're going to subject yourself to something like that, make sure your reason for doing so isn't one that will drag you down and drown you. The real world is nothing like fairy tales, little girl. It's cold, cruel, unfair, and if you give it the chance, it will tear you and your ideals to pieces without hesitation.

With that, the white-haired man walked through the doorway and closed the door behind him. Yang shot up from her seat and followed closely behind, fist clenched in anger, heels stomping loudly on the ground, throwing the door open so roughly it cracked the frame as well as the wall. Blake couldn't see her partner's face, but she was sure she was gritting her teeth out in anger. She probably would've done the same thing, yet she couldn't deny the truth in Archer's words, and she hated that. However, the simple fact was no one spoke to Yang Xiao Long's little sister like that, and with Ruby being both the leader and 'little sister' of the team, none of them would take kindly the manner which this man dared to speak to Ruby Rose.

* * *

Yang rushed up to catch up to the man who had 'seemingly' saved her sister's partner. Even though he seemed quite amiable at first, his latest encounter with them turned that opinion completely inside out. She thought the guy would be fun and a nice change of pace, but with the attitude he just displayed, Yang knew better than to hope for a good outcome with him.

 _'How can a cold bastard like him possibly have the heart to save Weiss, or anyone else for that matter?'_

She finally caught up to him, landing a hand on his shoulder and spun him around, "What is your problem, _Archer_? You seemed to be perfectly fine on the ride back to Beacon, but now, you're acting like a complete asshole to us, especially my sister. Who the hell do you think you are, trying to put my little sister down like that!"

Archer merely raised an eyebrow at her outburst. "I told you, I'm just a lowly Guardian, Xiao-Long. I believe I need to meet the headmaster in the courtyard, so If you don't mind I'll be off."

He turned around to try and walk away from the blonde brawler, but was harshly tugged back around to face her again.

The Guardian narrowly avoided getting punched in the face, ducking down beneath the blonde brawler's fist and catching her forearm. Yang tried to wrench her way out but found that the man's grip was as strong as the steel that made up his swords.

"Hey, let go of me!" Yang tried to assault him with her other arm, but she froze when her eyes met his steely gaze.

Enraged red eyes met the coldest of iron. After a brief struggle, Yang's eyes faltered, but the steel in Archer's eyes retained its firmness.

"Pathetic, trying to assault me like that because you don't like what I told your sister. What are you, a toddler? Is this what your academy has to offer? Tell me, _girl-"_ Archer seethed,"-why did you choose to become a hunttress? To follow that stupid dream your sister has?"

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up! Her dream isn't stupid! It's beautiful! It's amazing! You can't possibly know anything about saving people, you asshole!" Yang swore. "I became a huntress so I could protect her! So I can have a little excitement and do something with my life!"

The harshness in Archer's gaze receded microscopically, "Yes, it is a beautiful dream..." he trailed off, looking down unto the floor.

However, as soon as they did, Archer's eyes shot up to meet Yang's own again, his piercing gaze became even sharper than before, as if he was staring directly into her soul. "Yet, her dream is completely useless and doomed to fail if her reasons are utterly pathetic!" the bowman shouted. He threw Yang's arm away from him, causing her to stumble back a bit from the Guardian. She caught herself and attempted to get into a threatening pose, but she faltered under the cold presence the man before her seemingly exuded.

"Ruby and I both have the same dream, but unlike your sister, my reason isn't some naïve delusion!" his voice climbed louder and louder. "I strove to protect those who weren't able to protect themselves. I strove to save those who were beyond saving! I strove to feel that same happiness that my father felt when he saved me! Your sister's reason for following her dream is because she wants to live in a fantasy land!"

"You… you!"

Archer cut her off fiercely, "Silence, girl! How can she expect to find the power and determination to change the world if the only thing she has that drives her is the fact that she wishes to become some sort of fairy tale! Look around! Life isn't some sort of fantasy! People died today because you and your comrades couldn't protect them! What are you going to do about that? Get irate and punch your way out of it like you tried to punch me?"

She had more than enough. Her hair began burning with the heat of a thousand suns and her eyes screamed for blood. However, before she could continue, he dug a fist deep into her solar plexus, disrupting the power that her Semblance granted her. She tried to get up, but the blow was stronger than she had anticipated and she fell down onto a knee.

"Even you, your goals are just as MEANINGLESS!" he roared at her, making her cower in fear as if a predator was staring down at her. "You're training to become huntresses, girl, not just some monster hunter seeking a cheap thrill! Don't be a fool unless you want to die a fool's death! This isn't some kind of sport, where the winner's the one who brings home the most kills! This is a war! A war against the scourge known as Grimm waged by humanity itself! If you treat it as if it's a game to partake in for your own entertainment, then people will die. You endanger not only yourself with you foolishness, but also your sister, your friends, your teammates, and all the people you are meant to protect.

"J-just-" Yang tried to choke out, but the Guardian wouldn't have any of it

"Unlike you, _girl,_ I know a few things about life!" Archer growled out. "You're just but a little girl in a world full of _monsters._ Don't act like you have more perspective than your naïve sister back there. You're both the same! How can you expect her to become strong enough to pursue a goal such as hers when you coddle her?"

Yang couldn't even begin of coming up with a retort, the oppressive aura halting her thoughts and rendering her brain as useless as mush.

"I, too, was weak at one point, much like your sister. I was foolish enough to believe in an ideal I couldn't hope of realizing. However _unlike_ her, I grew. I became strong enough to understand what my ideals really meant. But it was only after those same ideals broke me. You, your sister, and everyone else in this school, are children in a world filled with monsters. And there are three things that happen to such children. They run away so they can continue being children, they grow up so they can be strong enough to defeat the monsters, or they die.

"You and your sister are fortunate in that you're both still young enough that you can decide which of these paths you will take, and assuming you're not like me when I was your age, you'll make that choice while you still can. If not, one day your sister might just wake up and find that she's become me."

As the Counter Guardian walked away however, Yang found the courage to get in one last parting shot.

"Ruby's nothing like you!"

But of course Archer had a rebuttal. One that terrified Yang simply because of how honest it was.

"For her sake, I pray you're right."

* * *

' _Maybe I went overboard,'_ Archer mused.

He didn't necessarily want to be so harsh, but these girls were to be the protectors of their world. They couldn't afford to be lenient, they couldn't afford to believe that they could save everyone even before they had the skills to do so.

Shirou learned that he had a long way to go before he could save everyone, and in order to compensate for it, he helped others in minor ways. Those girls however were becoming disillusioned. Ruby was a pure soul. At the end of the day, she wanted to help others. She had the same goal that Shirou Emiya had: to not let anyone cry if they could help it.

But her path was childish. She wished to become a huntress because she believed that it was 'cooler' and like a 'fairy tale.' She didn't understand that heroes are not made from fairy tales. Heroes made themselves. And that's what set Archer off. The difference between her and Shirou Emiya lied their reasoning. The boy had more noble reasoning, if not a more suicidal and self-destructive one.

The boy was saved. The emotion he saw in Kiritsugu's Emiya's eyes when the Magus killer saved the dying boy made him wish to feel that same emotion. That mix of pure happiness and relief. He came to adore the man, to adore the dream that he passed down onto the boy during his dying moments. He wanted to feel that same emotion of being a savior. Maybe it was a bit selfish, but at the end of the day, it was a beautiful reason for an even more beautiful dream.

The girl was a pure soul, while Emiya was a saved soul. The boy he once was understood the depraved state of the world. He understood that his dream might never be reached, but he did so anyway. The girl didn't understand this. She couldn't have, as her soul was pure. She hadn't seen anything truly horrible in the world, nor did she know what she was up against.

However, Archer had found a kindred soul in her. Both strove towards the same dream. But if she were to reach it, she needed to understand that her dream might be unreachable. She needed to understand what she truly fought against. She didn't just fight against Grimm. When she finally understood both of these things and made the decision to still strive towards her goal, she could truly start making the necessary leaps to meet it.

"That was quite an impression you made on the girls there, Archer." While the Guardian was lost in thought, the headmaster snuck up to his side with two mugs of coffee, and offered one of them to the bowman.

"While I say that you were a bit... harsh," the headmaster took a sip of his steaming coffee, "you were for the most part, right. While your goals remind me of Ruby's own, she needs to develop a certain level of maturity in order to teach them. While she _is_ the youngest student Beacon has ever accepted, she is a team leader. I let them be children because there's little time for them left, but it doesn't mean they can stop growing."

Archer took a sip of his own coffee and was pleasantly surprised with the rich taste that it offered him. It calmed him and allowed him to relax for the first time since arriving in this world. The guardian had a wild ride up ahead of him, and he'll take any form of repose when he can.

"These girls, these students of yours. They're to be the future protects of this world?"

"Yes. I can only hope that I was able to guide them through their lives here so that they can survive. The world needs them, now more than ever before."

Archer paused to think. The girls he met were to become future hunters, saviors, heroes. They'll follow a similar path to his own. Like it or not, some of them might become what he once was, and still is to an extent.

"Then we have our work cut out for us, don't we?"

* * *

The two white haired men walked through the rest of the corridor in a peaceful silence, side by side, gazing towards an ever-distant utopia.

There were bodies all around her, bunched up and strewn around, flies flying around the decaying carcasses. She was in a mountainous area, military vehicles of some sort lying abandoned in ditches alongside their drivers. There was no trace of life, and the air was filled with a suffocating smell of death and despair.

The searing summer sun scorched her alabaster skin and seemed to set it on fire. She seemed to be dripping in sweat, blood, and grime. She saw a tanned man covered with a white robe, standing on the edge of a cliff, staring into the horizon. The sun was setting behind them, and when it dipped below the horizon, the man turned to the side, somehow knowing that she was there. All she could see was a single eye, and for a second she thought she could see tears dripping down his face.

 _She saw hell._

The alleyway was filled with blood and garbage, some corpses piled on top of garbage bins and other bodies alike. She saw the slaughter and wanted to vomit out her lunch. The stench was unbearable and threatened to make her cry just out of pure disgust. Yet again, there was no trace of life, the air still and the street the alley led to lacking of cars or people. The lights above her flickered on and off, revealing the mix of water, mud, and grime that tainted the walls like some twisted form of painting.

She found the same man staring into the wall at the end of the alley. He didn't wear his white robe this time, instead garbed with a skin tight black sleeveless top with silver lines adorning it. A midnight black bow was strapped onto his back, but she couldn't seem to find any of his arrows.

He turned his face to the side again, and she saw the same expression from before. Despair. Regret. Pain. This time, he didn't cry.

 _She saw hell._

The scene changed. She was standing atop the rubble of buildings, an insatiable inferno blazing around her. The flames danced onto her skin and she felt the intense heat even through her aura. The flames were the hottest she'd ever felt. It was unnatural, seemed to be filled with a disgusting taint. There flames weren't burning to clean or purge. They burned to destroy.

She saw a dark haired man with a mess of spiky hair digging through the rubble. She knew he was searching for survivors.

She wanted to tell him, _it's useless, no one could survive this fire._

However, when she spoke, she couldn't hear him. She looked closely and observed that the man had found a boy, a boy with messy raid hair and empty eyes. Those empty eyes unnerved her, but the man did not care. He was crying in joy. She couldn't understand. In the midst of all this despair, he had a reason to smile?

"I found someone, my god I found someone. I'm so glad that I found you..." the man choked out, tears streaming down his face like the rivers in Mistral.

The boy seemed to be dying, and she didn't think the man could save the poor thing. She wanted to help, but deep down inside she knew that her help wouldn't do anything. However, she still stepped ahead, but before she could go any further, she heard a voice from behind her.

"Hey, you know that's hell you're walking into."

 _She saw hell_.

However, the scene faded before she could look behind her. Instead it was replaced with a blinding white as she blinked her eyes open for the first time in hours.

"Weiss? Weiss! You're awake! We have to tell Professor Ozpin!" a high pitched voice resounded.

"It's okay Weiss, you're alright, you're okay. Everyone's fine," she heard someone else say.

 _Who am I hearing again?_

Her eyesight was still fuzzy and she could barely make out the form of someone, no, Ruby, beside her bed.

She didn't have the power to say anything, however. Her mind was focused on the vivid dream she seemed to live out. It was something she could never forget, and she feared that she would relive it every single night.

However, something broke her out of her reverie. All her teammates filed into the room, relieved that she was awake. The headmaster walked into the room next, still calm and collected as he always is.

She couldn't make out any of their voices, save for a singular one, deep and powerful.

"Hmm... you seem to finally be awake, master. We have much to discuss."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm back! Edits took a while but honestly they were much needed. Thanks to Paragon Of Awesomeness for the editing and proofreading!**

 **I know you guys are going to have some concerns with Archer's mood change between Ozpin's conversation and RWBY's, most specifically Yang. He's angry, but not as angry as first depicted. He's more irritated angry rather than truly angry. And yes, Archer does know of how harsh he was, you can see that in his thoughts after his argument. He's cold and calculating. It seems like he let his emotions get the best of him because Ruby triggered him, but in reality, he listened to much of the conversation and due to the background information he received from Ozpin, he ascertained that the best course of action was this little "act not really an act."**

 **The world of Remnant is harsh and Archer realizes this full well, and he came to the conclusion that, in his eyes at least, he couldn't coddle them (as if he could) and did what he did with Shirou, albeit more consciously. He used negative incentive/reinforcement. Shape up or face an undesired outcome. He is the outcome that Team RWBY doesn't want, and he used his cold and cynical attitude to accentuate this. This in turn, as seen with Yang, will allow them to be more proactive in avoiding said outcome: Ruby becoming like EMIYA. This possible and it makes it ever the more scary to the rest of team RWBY, and even to me. Ruby's too adorable to become Archer, no siree.**

 **Good work to Paragon on that little part of the conversation. Honestly, at first, that negative incentive was "die" but this worked out much better, especially with the rest of team RWBY. They don't want their little Ruby to become a stone cold killer. "Not even if he has rock hard abs."-Yang.**

 **I can't give out a specific date of update, and I know it's a pain for me to say that I'll upload by this day(especially since I'd say my other story would be updated before October came) so I'll just say dates might be erratic. College applications are tough and my top schools (MIT, Columbia, etc.) require a lot of effort to actually have a good application. Other than that, school's a pain and physics homework is a bitch. Seriously, figuring out the center of mass of a parabolic plate with a circle cut out of it is already hard enough, but having the density change according to an quadratic equation? Nope.**

 **I know it's pretty early to be saying this but hey, if anyone wants to make any fan art, go on right ahead! I kinda want a unique picture for this story. Barely noticed that Paragon's picture for his latest story was the same, damnit me. Chibi Archer... hmmmm...**

 **And would you look at that! 385 favs, 499 (damn that last one) followers, 69 reviews! Awesome! That's so much! Seriously, to whoever's reading and reviewing, you guys are the best!**

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 **So I'll be putting out recs on what to read based on my recent reads. I might add an Omake instead if I choose for the next few chapters Here they are:**

 **RWBY or RWBYxFate**

 _ **Letters to Winter,**_ **by Mallobaude. Very nice story with eventual White Knight, although the romance hasn't really kicked off yet. If you like White Knight, this is for you. Reminiscent of:**

 _ **Just A Few Pointers,**_ **b** **y Myareska. The older story between the White Knight stories. Similar "Weiss trains Jaune" premise but takes different routes with how they alter canon and how this arrangement came to be.**

 _ **Remnant,**_ **by Fell the Tempest. FatexRWBY A bit of inspiration came from this story. Beautifully written, the first few chapters are shorter than the last few but I seriously love the character interaction and the take on the aftermath of it all. Bumblebee is there (not very developed as of yet), but romance is not a focus and it's realistic. I normally hate the inter team shippings, especially White Rose (Ugh Tsundere cliche but worse), but this I could deal with.**

 _ **What a Wonderful World,**_ **by Aurora313. Very unique RWBY travels to STRQ era with a twist. I like how Raven's character is developed there and *gasp* Qrow's sober!**

 ** _Gloria Dei est in Tenebris,_ by Teninshigen. Unique Jaune is badass story, with added supernatural elements. I cannot recommend this enough. Jaune is still Jaune with some of his dorky qualities but the trauma of dealing with the outlands has changed him. I love the premise and it seems some of it is also Fate inspired, just a little. And just noting, going along with Classical Latin Grammar rules, the title means "Glory to God in the darkness/The Glory of God in the darkness." Damn Latin IV haunts me. Beautiful story indeed.**

 **Non-RWBY:**

 ** _A Fake Familiar_ , by Paragon of Awesomeness. A Fate and DxD crossover. Not just advertising for my editor's story, but I seriously like this story! A little take on if Archer was summoned by Rias as a familiar.**

 _ **Sword of Origin: Protector of Zero**_ **and _Champion of Distant Dream,_ by WhizKidHV. The first is Zero no Tsukaima and Fate. If you've read Whiz's _A Different Path,_ this takes the "Shirou"/Sword of Akasha of its normal ending and places him/it into the world of Louise de Valliere. The second is Campione and Fate, and takes the Shirou's soul from the same ending and places it with within the Campione verse. Very good work, and I love the development both Shirous go under throughout the story. Highly recommend if you guys like the other two franchises, not much recent work from both crossover archives has been this good. **

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**Next Story Update: very long overdue, I'll get to work on the next chapter of Die Another Day right after I post this.**


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